A  FRIEND 

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PAUL  GAULOT 


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A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 


COUNT    DE    FERSEN. 


FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 


(MARIE  ANTOINETTE-COUNT  DE  FERSEN) 


BY 

"IPAUL   GAULOT 

TRANSLATED 

By  MRS.   CASHEL  HOEY 


IVITH   TWO  PORTRAITS 


NEW    YORK 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1893 


Authorized  Edition. 


PKEFACE 

The  personal  history  of  Count  Fersen,  and  the 
part  which  he  played  at  the  Court  of  France, 
have  been  only  vaguely  known  up  to  the  present 
time ;  but  the  documents  which  were  necessary  to 
complete  our  information  respecting  the  Count 
have  been  supplied  by  a  recent  work.  Baron 
E.  M.  de  Klinckowstrom,  a  Colonel  in  the 
Swedish  army,  and  grand-nephew  of  Count 
Fersen,  has  given  to  the  world  Le  Comte  de 
Fersen  et  la  Cour  de  France,  compiled  from 
extracts  from  the  papers  of  Count  John  Axel 
Fersen,  Grand  Marshal  of  Sweden. 

Although  this  work  is  incomplete,  it  throws 
so  novel  and  unexpected  a  light  upon  the  Count 
in  the  first  instance,  and  also  upon  certain  por- 
tions of  the  history  of  the  closing  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  that  I  have  thought  it  well 
to  retrace  the  life  of  Count  Fersen,  by  the  aid 
of  these  documents  and  others  which  I  have 
succeeded  in  procuring  elsewhere,  and  to  add 
a  narrative  of  the  events  with  which  he  was  so 
closely  associated. 


vi  PREFACE 

A  strong  additional  inducement  to  attempt 
this  task  of  historical  reconstruction  existed  for 
me  in  the  fact  that  Marie  Antoinette  is  revealed 
in  these  documents  in  her  real  character,  just 
as  she  actually  was ;  so  that  I  am  enabled  to 
restore  its  true  physiognomy  to  a  fascinating 
image,  which  has  hitherto  been  falsely  presented, 
whether  for  good  or  evil,  by  the  legends  that 
have  been  almost  universally  accepted  as  true 
portraiture. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  after  the  lapse  of  a 
century  the  truth  may  be  written  concerning 
the  revolutionary  epoch,  and  the  people  of  that 
epoch,  even  though  it  should  displease  those  who 
regard  history  as  only  (to  quote  Fontenelle) 
"  la  fable  convenue." 

PAUL  GAULOT. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAOB 

France  during  the  last  years  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XV. — 
Mme.  du  Barry — The  Dauphin  and  the  Dauphiness — 
A  ball  given  by  the  Dauphiness  on  the  loth  January 
1774 — Count  John  Axel  Fersen — The  masked  ball 
at  the  Opera — Shrove  Tuesday  at  Versailles — A  de- 
spatch from  Count  Creutz  to  Gustavus  III. — The 
Fersen  family — Count  Frederick — John  Fersen  at 
Turin  and  Strasburg — Voltaire  at  Ferney — Count 
Fersen  in  London — His  return  to  Sweden .        .        .     1-25 


CHAPTER  II. 

Count  John  in  Sweden — Gustavus  III. — The  Count's 
second  visit  to  France — The  Queen  recognises  him 
and  is  pleased  at  seeing  him  again — Mutual  liking — 
Count  Creutz's  despatch  to  the  King  of  Sweden — A 
project  of  marriage  attributed  to  Count  Fersen — 
Mdlle.  de  Leijel — He  starts  for  America    .        .        ,  26-39 


CHAPTER  IIL 

The  English  colonies  in  America — The  lieavy  yoke  of 
England — The  first  upheaval — Washington — Enthu- 
siasm in  France — Franklin — Count  John  Fersen  is 
attached  to  the  expedition  as  aide-de-camp  to  M.  de 
Rochambeau — He  leaves  Paris — From  Brest  to  New- 
port— Incidents — The  Due  de  Lauzun — Interview  be- 
tween M.  de  Rochambeau  and  Washington — General 
Arnold's  treason — The  feeling  among  the  insurgent 
population — Spies — Williamsburg — The  capitulation 
of  Lord  Cornwallis  (19th  October  1781) — Philadel- 
phia— The  approaching  peace — Count  Fersen  leaves 
America — Boston — Porto  Cabello — Return  to  France 
(June  1783) 40-77 


viii  CONTENTS 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

PAGE 

A  letter  from  GustaA'iis  III.  to  Louis  XVI, — Count  Fersen 
at  the  Court  of  France — Mdlle.  Necker — An  abortive 
project  of  marriage — Stedingk  and  Stael — Gustavus 
III.  in  Germany,  in  Italy,  and  in  France — Count 
Fersen's  return  to  Sweden  (1784) — Political  events — 
Preludes  to  the  Revolution — Queen  Marie  Antoinette 
— Unpopularity — The  French  Court — The  Comtesse 
Jules  de  Polignac — Baron  de  Besenval — The  Due  de 
Lauzun — The  Due  de  Coigny — The  diamond  necklace 
— The  louis-d'or  of  Strasburg — M.  de  Calonne — "  The 
King  has  sent  in  his  resignation" — The  Assembly  of 
the  Notables — Count  Fersen's  impressions — Sweden 
in  1788 — Finland  expedition — Count  Fersen's  mis- 
sion in  France — Mme.  de  Chicogne — Valenciennes  and 
Paris — Revolutionary  agitation .        .        .        .         78-117 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  5th  of  May  at  the  door  of  the  Menus-Plaisirs — The 
States-General — The  taking  of  the  Bastille — Count 
Fersen's  impressions — October  days — The  mob  at 
Versailles — The  Queen  in  danger — The  Royal  Family 
returns  to  Paris — The  Journal  of  Louis  XVI. — Count 
Fersen  at  Aix-la-Chapelle — Baron  Taube — The  Fete 
of  the  Federation — Political  news — Incidents  of  the 
1 8th  of  April  1791 — Preparations  for  departure — Un- 
easiness among  the  people — Vigilance  of  Citizens 
Busebi  and  Hucher — 'I'he  21st  of  June — M.  Lemoine 
enters  the  King's  bedchamber — It  is  empty — Dis- 
api)earance  of  the  Royal  Family — Commotion  in 
Paris — Au  bceuf  couronn^ 1 18-142 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Flight  contemplated — The  plan  of  M.  de  Breteuil — The 
Marquis  de  Bouilld — Count  Fersen  is  charged  with 
the  negotiations — Intervention  of  the  Emperor  of 
Germany — Movements  of  troops  on  the  frontier — 
Baron  de  Goguelat — Forces  at  the  disposal  of  M.  de 
Bouille — Plan  of  journey — Reims  to  be  avoided — 
Stages  so  far  as  Montmedy — Goguelat  reconnoitres  the 
route — The  King's  commands  transmitted  to  Bouille 
— Preparations  in  Paris — Baroness  Korff — The  berline 


CONTENTS  ix 

PAGE 

— Meeting  of  Count  Fersen  and  the  Due  d'Orleans 
at  Vincennes — The  Tuileries  watched — Doors  made 
in  the  wood  panelling — Persons  associated  with  the 
projected  flight :  Count  Fersen,  Madame  Sullivan, 
Colonel  Crawford — Lafayette — Mesdames  de  Tourzel, 
Brunier,  and  de  Neuville — The  body-guards,  Messieurs 
do  Valory,  du  Moustier,  and  de  Maldent — The  20th 
of  June  in  Paris — The  final  preparations — Count 
Fersen  at  the  Tuileries — A  chest  of  pistols  and  bullet- 
casting — Leaving  the  Tuileries — Incidents — Count 
Fersen  disguised  as  a  hackney-coachman — At  Bondy — 
Separation — First  relay — Pourboires  too  liberal — The 
royal  family  think  they  are  out  of  danger — A  saying 
of  Louis  XVI. — His  imprudence — He  is  recognised 
by  various  persons — Pont  Sommevesle — Commotion 
caused  by  the  presence  of  the  detachment  commanded 
by  Choiseul  and  Goguelat — Sainte-Menehould — M. 
d'Andoins — He  warns  the  King  to  hasten  onward — 
— Drouet  the  postmaster  and  Guillaume — A  quarter- 
master escapes  and  pursues,  but  does  not  come  up  with 
them — Clermont — M.  de  Damas — Drouet  arrives  at 
Varennes  at  a  quarter  to  twelve  o'clock — The  Pro- 
cureur  of  the  commune  is  warned — The  bridge  barred 
— The  berline  arrives  and  cannot  pass — Arrest  of  the 
travellers — The  alarm-bell — The  National  Guard  in 
arms — M.  Destez — The  King  makes  himself  known — 
The  night  at  Varennes — Goguelat  attempts  to  deliver 
the  King — Louis  XVI.  tries  to  gain  time — M.  de 
Bouilledoes  not  appear — Arrival  of  Messieurs  Romeuf, 
aide-de-camp  to  Lafayette,  and  Baillon — Departure 
from  Varennes  for  Paris — Incidents — Murder  of  M. 
de  Dampierre — Meeting  at  Epernay  with  the  three 
commissaries  sent  by  the  National  Assembly,  Bar- 
nave,  Latour-Maubourg,  and  Petion — Petion's  narra- 
tive— Paris  re-entered — The  attitude  of  the  population 
— The  King's  Journal 143-209 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Count  Fersen  at  Mons — False  news — "Tlie  King  is 
saved  ! " — Count  Fersen  meets  Bouille  at  Arlon — 
"All  is  lost !" — M.  de  Mercy -Argenteau  at  Brussels 
— "  He  takes  the  gloomiest  view  " — Notes  from  Marie 
Antoinette — The  Princesse  de  Lamballe — Mme.  de 
Polignac — News  from  Paris — Dejection  of  the  King 
— The  King  and  Queen  are  interrogated  by  Tronchet, 
Duport,  and  d' Andre — Indictment  of  the  authors  of 


X  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

the  "Abduction  of  the  King"  and  their  accomplices 
— Count  Fersen's  sojourn  in  France  interdictea — M. 
de  Damas,  M.  d'Audoins,  M.  de  Choiseul,  and  M.  de 
Goguelat — Courageous  bearing  of  tlie  three  body- 
guards— Letter  from  the  Marquis  de  Bouille  to  tlie 
National  Assembly — Displeasure  of  the  Royalists 
remaining  in  France — The  King  of  Sweden  at  Spa — 
Count  Fersen  at  Coblentz — The  Princes  :  Monsieur 
and  the  Comte  d'Artois — M.  de  Calonne — Count 
Fersen  at  Vienna — Interview  with  the  Emperor 
Leopold — "The  accursed  Florentine" — The  political 
interest  of  the  House  of  Austria  in  the  degradation 
of  the  House  of  France — A  contemplated  landing  in 
Normandy — Louis  XVL  accepts  the  Constitution — 
The  Queen  accused  of  allowing  herself  to  be  led  by 
Barnave — Her  double  game — Letters  to  Fersen — 
Political  and  private  communications         .        .       210-252 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Gustavus  in.  renews  his  efforts  for  the  deliverance  of  the 
royal  family — A  scheme  of  flight — Count  Fersen  is 
commissioned  to  communicate  with  the  King  and 
Queen  of  France — Obstacles  to  his  return  to  Paris — 
The  Queen  consents — Difficulties  concerning  pass- 
ports— His  journey,  postponed  at  first,  is  accom- 
plished in  February  1792 — Departure  from  Brussels 
— Disguise — Arrival  in  Paris — First  visit  to  the 
Tuileries — Interview  with  the  King  —  Departure 
from  Paris — Incidents  of  the  return — Fersen's  report 
to  the  King  of  Sweden 253-273 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Sudden  death  of  Leopold  II. — Rumours  of  poison — The 
emigrants  rejoice  at  the  death  of  the  Emperor — 
Francis  II. — News  from  Sweden — Convocation  of  the 
Diet  at  Gefle — Dissatisfaction  of  the  Swedish  nobility 
— Superstitious  credulity  of  Gustavus  III. — The 
vision  of  Charles  IX. — In  the  Haga  Park  on  an 
evening  in  January  1792 — Plot  against  the  life  of 
the  King — The  conspirators — Ankarstroem — Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Liliehoni — The  i6th  of  March — At 
the  masked  ball — "  JBonjour,  beau  masque  " — Gustavus 
is  wounded  by  a  pistol-shot — His  last  hours — His 
death — The  doom  of  Ankarstroem — Count  Fersen's 
grief 274-297 


CONTENTS  xi 


CHAPTER  X. 

PAGE 

Tlie  situation  in  France — Isnard's  words — A  summons  to 
the  Electors  of  Treves  and  Mayence,  and  to  the  other 
Princes  of  the  Empire,  to  put  an  end  to  the  massing 
of  troops  upon  the  frontier — The  reply  of  Francis, 
King  01  Bohemia  and  Hungary — Declaration  of  the 
"State  of  War" — Satisfaction  of  the  Queen  and 
Count  Fersen — Correspondence  in  cipher — M.  Rignon 
— The  2oth  of  June — The  Queen's  despatches — "It 
is  said,  but  I  do  not  believe  it" — Lafayette  proposes 
a  plan  of  flight — The  arrival  of  the  Marseillais — A 
manifesto  by  the  Duke  of  Brunswick — M.  de  Limon's 
text  modified  by  Count  Fersen — It  is  proposed  to  ask 
for  a  declaration  by  the  King  of  England  in  favour 
of  the  Royal  Family  of  France — The  loth  of  August 
— The  National  Assembly  and  the  Temple — Lafayette 
is  made  prisoner — The  September  massacres — The 
death  of  Mme.  de  Lamballe — Manuel's  words — M.  de 
Mercy — Dumouriez — Valmy  (20th  September  1792) 
— Suflferings  of  the  troops  and  the  emigrants — The 
Duke  of  Brunswick's  retreat — Count  Fersen  leaves 
Brussels — Jemmapes  (6th  November  1792)        .       298-323 


CHAPTER  XI. 

News  from  Paris — The  trial  of  the  King — The  21st  of 
January — The  Will  of  Louis  XVI. — Attitude  of  the 
Princes  and  emigrants — Indifference  of  foreigners — 
Attempts  to  escape  made  at  Paris — Toulan  and  Jar- 
jayes — The  Stamp — Agreement  arrived  at  between 
Dumouriez  and  the  Prince  of  Coburg — Hopes  of 
Count  Fersen,  appointed  Ambassador  to  King  Louis 
XVII.— Note  of  the  8th  of  April  1793— The  defection 
of  Dumouriez — Interview  of  the  General  with  Count 
Fersen  at  Brussels — Inaction  of  M.  de  Mercy — 
Hostility  of  M.  de  Thugut — Drouet — The  Queen 
transferred  to  the  Conciergerie — The  Chevalier  de 
Rougeville — Details  of  the  captivity  of  Marie  Antoi- 
nette— A  last  effort  in  favour  of  the  Queen — Novere, 
the  dancing-master,  and  Ribbes,  the  banker — The 
trial  of  the  Queen — Marie  Antoinette  at  the  National 
Window — Count  Fersen's  gi-ief  .        .         .       324-357 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XII. 

PARK 

Consequences  of  the  Queen's  death — The  Regent  of  Sweden 
deprives  Count  Fersen  of  his  diplomatic  post — Recog- 
nition of  the  French  Republic — The  son  of  Gustavus 
III. — Reactionary  policy — The  majority  of  Gustavus 
IV.  is  proclaimed  (6th  November  1796) — Count  Fersen 
at  the  Congress  of  Rastadt — General  Bonaparte's 
speech  to  Fersen — Return  to  Sweden — The  strong 
protest  of  Gustavus  IV.  against  Napoleon  is  attributed 
to  Count  Fersen— The  fall  of  Gustavus  IV.— The 
Duke  of  Sudermania  is  proclaimed  King  under  the 
name  of  Charles  XIII. — Adoption  of  Prince  Christian 
of  Holstein-Augustenburg — Sudden  death  of  the 
Prince  —  Rumours  of  poison  —  Accusations  against 
Count  Fersen,  and  against  his  sister,  Countess  Piper 
— Popular  excitement — Moral  complicity  of  the  King 
— Funeral  ceremony  of  the  20th  of  June  1810 — 
Popular  feeling  against  the  Grand  Marshal — Count 
Fersen  is  massacred  in  the  courtyard  of  the  H6tel-de- 
Ville 358-371 


A 

FRIEND   OF   THE   QUEEN 

CHAPTER  I. 

France  during  the  last  years  of  tlie  reign  of  Louis  XV. — Mme. 
du  Barry — The  Dauphin  and  the  Dauphiness — A  ball  given 
by  the  Dauphiness  on  the  loth  January  1774 — Count  John 
Axel  Fersen  —  The  masked  ball  at  the  Opera  —  Shrove 
Tuesday  at  Versailles — A  despatch  from  Count  Creutz  to 
Gustavus  III.  —  The  Fersen  family — Count  Frederick — 
John  Fersen  at  Turin  and  Strasburg — Voltaire  at  Ferney 
— Count  Fersen  in  London — His  return  to  Sweden. 

The  well-known  saying  of  Pope  Benedict  XIV., 
"Can  any  further  proof  of  the  existence  of 
a  Providence  be  desired  than  the  prosperity 
of  France  under  the  reign  of  Louis  XV.  ? "  was 
merely  a  splenetic  phrase.  With  all  the  good- 
will in  the  world,  it  would  be  difficult  to  see 
anything  else  in  it,  for  France  had  rarely  been 
less  prosperous. 

The  worthless  sovereign  who  had  occupied 
the  throne  of  France  from  his  earliest  child- 
hood had  allowed  everything  to  become  dis- 
organised by  degrees,  and  to  dissolve  in  his 
hands.  The  ruin  was  general  and  lamentable. 
Not  an  institution  had  escaped  the  universal 
decay ;   no,  not  even   the   institution  of  royal 


2  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEX 

mistresses,  which  the  sovereigns  who  preceded 
him  had  hitherto  so  vigilantly  defended. 

Louis  XV.  gave  Jeanne  Vaubernier,  ill-dis- 
guised under  her  new  title  of  Comtesse  du 
Barry,  as  a  successor  to  the  Duchesse  de  Cha- 
teauroux  and  the  Marquise  de  Pompadour ;  and 
"  court  and  city,"  so  the  phrase  still  ran,  had 
observed  the  left-handed  misalliance  with  aston- 
ishment, and  also  with  some  disgust. 

This  was  a  very  different  matter  from  the 
decorous  adulterous  relations  of  Louis  XIV., 
and  accordingly  respect  died  out.  One  day, 
the  King,  in  talking  about  his  new  love  affair, 
deigned  to  acknowledge  that  he  was  not  Du 
Barry's  first  admirer. 

"It  is  X.  whom  I  succeed,"  said  Louis. 

And  some  one  present  had  the  boldness  to 
reply— 

"  As  your  Majesty  succeeds  Pharamond." 

The  King  had  some  excuse  to  plead ;  he  was 
bored  to  death.  When  Louis  XIV.  was  grow- 
ing old,  he  took  to  devotion ;  Louis  XV.  tried 
to  dispel  his  incurable  ennui  by  new  sensations. 
What  a  strange  malady  was  that  for  a  man 
whose  destiny  it  was  to  reign  over  a  nation 
numbering  many  millions  of  souls  !  The  remedy 
was  stranger  still,  and,  moreover,  it  did  not 
cure.  The  most  it  ever  did  was  to  afford  him 
some  passing  diversion.  It  appears  that  the 
descendant  of  Henri  IV.  derived  keen  plea- 
sure from  being  treated  like  any  other  of  her 
lovers  by  a  common  woman, ^ and  gladly  encour- 
aged her  in  her  vulgar  familiarity.  Not  indeed 
that  she  required  encouragement ;  that  is  plain 


"HI!  FRANCE!"  3 

from  some  of  her  sayings  whicli  have  been 
recorded  by  history,  as,  for  instance,  "  Hi ! 
France  !  your  coffee  is  cutting  away  !  "  (The 
tutoiement  gives  this  speech  peculiar  point  and 
insolence. ) 

What  the  King  did  not  see  was  that  the 
monarchical  idea  was  imitating  his  coffee  in 
rapidly  "  cutting  away,"  and  preceding  the  fall 
of  the  ancient  house  of  France.  He  did  in- 
deed say,  "  After  us  the  deluge ; "  but  by 
that  he  merely  meant  difficulties,  w^orries,  crises, 
perhaps  a  few  revolts ;  he  neither  foresaw  nor 
divined  that  great  thing  which  came  of  his 
faults,  and  was  the  issue  of  his  shameful  life — ■ 
the  Revolution. 

It  must  always  be  a  cause  for  regret  that 
events  w^ere  not  precipitated,  and  that  Louis  XV., 
the  guilty,  was  not  also  the  punished  person. 

Nevertheless,  it  may  be  that  he  was,  for 
he  was  not  brave  in  the  face  of  either  danger 
or  death.  This  was  amply  proved  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  abortive  attempt  of  Damiens  to 
assassinate  him.  The  doctors  assured  him  that 
the  scratch  he  had  received  was  of  no  importance, 
not  the  slightest  anxiety  was  felt  by  anybody, 
but  he  continued  to  tremble,  was  convinced 
that  he  was  about  to  die,  and  insisted  on  being 
repeatedly  given  absolution  by  the  Abb^  de 
Rochecour,  the  almoner  of  the  district,  who 
was  summoned  to  attend  him.  Of  a  surety, 
he  must  have  suffered  intensely  when  he  knew 
that  he  was  in  the  grip  of  the  fearful  malady 
which  carried  him  off.  A  fetid  odour  was 
exhaled  from  his  skin  for  several  days  before 


4  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

the  end  came.  The  knowledge  that  he  was 
an  object  of  horror  and  disgust  to  all  who 
approached  him  must  have  sorely  wounded  his 
pride,  and  this,  added  to  the  superstitious 
terror  of  his  craven  soul,  might  have  consoled 
those  who  regretted  that  he  escaped  the  popular 
fury,  by  suggesting  that  he  probably  believed 
himself  to  be  stricken  by  divine  justice. 

He  had  only  one  son,  Louis,  who  died  in 
1769.  The  eldest  of  his  grandsons,  the  Due 
de  Berry,  who  was  then  hardly  fourteen  years 
old,  became  Dauphin  and  heir-presumptive.  It 
was  a  strange  chance  of  the  law  of  heredity, 
which  has  been  fatal  alike  to  France  and  to 
the  royal  family,  that  a  child  w^as  called  to 
succeed  an  old  man,  and  thus  a  great  nation's 
destinies  were  left  to  the  hazards  of  two  kinds 
of  feebleness.  The  reign  that  was  drawing  to 
a  close  was  expiring  amid  general  discontent ; 
the  reign  that  was  imminent  inspired  many 
hopes  impossible  of  realisation.  All  the  more 
was  expected  of  the  new  Dauphin  because  the 
people  grew  increasingly  wretched  under  his 
grandfather. 

It  was,  however,  necessary  that  the  future 
king  should  have  the  qualities  requisite  for 
the  part  which  he  would  have  to  play.  In 
person,  the  Due  de  Berry  was  a  big  boy,  short 
of  stature  and  clumsy,  without  any  kind  of 
prestige,  devoid  of  those  external  gifts  which 
the  populace  look  for  and  like  to  recognise  in 
the  descendants  of  royal  families,  and  which 
seem  to  justify  the  privileges  of  birth.  His 
eyes  were  lustreless,  his  glance  was  vague,  his 


THE  DAUPHIN  5 

voice  was  shrill,  and,  notwithstanding  his  age, 
occasionally  high  and  sharp,  breaking  into  vulgar 
and  disagreeable  falsetto ;  his  gait  was  heavy 
and  ungraceful.  He  was  only  moderately  in- 
telligent, and  he  displayed  no  real  aptitude 
except  for  bodily  exercises.  He  excelled  in 
handicraft,  especially  of  the  rougher  kinds, 
taking  the  greatest  pleasure  in  forging  iron, 
mixing  mortar,  and  raking  rubble.  If  his  evil 
destiny  had  not  made  him  a  king,  he  would 
have  been  the  best  mechanic  in  the  realm.  He 
did,  however,  care  for  hunting,  and  willingly 
joined  in  that  more  elevated  pastime ;  but  if 
he  expended  his  strength  in  these  "violent 
delights,"  he  speedily  recruited  it,  and  some- 
thing more,  for  his  appetite  was  formidable, 
and  he  never  lost  or  failed  to  satisfy  it  even 
in  the  most  terrible  crises  of  his  life. 

He  had  indeed  none  but  passive  qualities, 
but  at  least  he  could  be  kind,  although  not 
always  judiciously  kind.  Perhaps  education 
might  have  rendered  the  prince  worthy  to 
fill  the  throne  of  France,  by  teaching  him 
how  to  conduct  himself  wisely  in  the  midst 
of  the  turbulence  of  his  reign  ;  but  in  this 
respect  he  had  been  truly  unfortunate ;  the 
guidance  of  his  youth  was  intrusted  to  the 
blindest  and  least  adroit  of  preceptors.  The 
Due  de  la  Vauguyon,  who  was  as  vain  as  he 
was  noble,  as  full  of  self-sufficiency  as  he  was 
devoid  of  ideas,  once  in  his  life  did  a  clever 
thing.  His  ambition  to  attain  a  position  in 
which  he  might  gratify  his  pride  and  realise 
his  desires,   suggested   to   him   to   suborn   one 


6  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

of  the  valets  in  the  service  of  the  Dauphin 
(the  son  of  Louis  XV.). 

"  The  valet  conveyed  to  him  every  morning 
the  title  of  the  book  which  the  Prince  had  just 
been  reading,"  says  the  Comte  d'Allonville  in 
his  Memoires  Secrets.  "  The  Due  de  Vauguyon 
procured  the  book,  read  it  rapidly,  and  retained 
so  much  of  its  contents  as  he  knew  to  be  on  the 
moral,  political,  and  religious  lines  of  the  august 
personage.  Then  he  would  skilfully  contrive  to 
turn  the  conversation  upon  the  subject  of  the 
book,  and  make  the  Prince  believe  in  his  vast 
and  wholesome  erudition.  The  Dauphin  soon 
came  to  look  upon  the  Due  de  la  Vauguyon  as 
the  very  man  to  bring  up  his  son." 

That  the  Dauphin  was  not  a  very  wise  person 
must  be  admitted,  but  what  lessons  had  he  ever 
been  taught?  One  little  feature  of  the  royal 
education  of  those  days  reveals  a  great  deal. 
The  young  princes  were  given  as  "headlines" 
for  their  copies  such  sentences  as  the  following : 
*'  Kings  are  gods  upon  the  earth ;  they  can  do 
all  that  they  will."  The  Due  de  la  Vauguyon 
was  not  the  man  to  change  this  deplorable 
system ;  he  contrived  to  make  it  worse,  and 
of  more  ruinous  effect. 

All  that  might  have  developed  and  formed 
the  mind  and  heart  of  the  royal  youth  was 
rigorously  excluded  from  the  singular  programme 
of  his  education,  and  as  to  all  appearance  the 
blood  of  Henri  IV.  and  Louis  XIV.  did  not 
run  freely  and  warmly  in  the  veins  of  their 
descendant,  the  result  proved  all  that  was  to 
be  feared  and  expected.     The  mild  and  passive 


HIS  EDUCATION  7 

nature  of  the  Due  de  Berry  led  him  to  accept 
whatever  he  was  taught  without  question.  The 
pupil  never  rebelled.  Petty  practices,  pious 
reading,  rigorous  discipline  had  done  their 
work  so  well,  that  when  the  time  came  for 
his  marriage  to  be  considered,  the  young  prince 
was  as  little  fitted  to  be  a  husband  as  he  was  to 
be  a  king.  And  yet  the  Due  de  la  Vauguyon 
was  not  completely  satisfied ;  he  did  not  think 
he  had  fully  succeeded.  During  the  early  years 
of  their  marriage  he  took  the  most  ridiculous 
precautions  to  keep  the  young  couple  apart, 
even  to  arranging  with  the  architects  that  the 
husband  and  wife  were  to  have  separate  apart- 
ments. And  when  he  could  not  avoid  leaving 
them  together — as  seldom  as  possible — he  even 
condescended  to  play  the  spy  to  the  extent 
of  listening  at  keyholes  in  order  to  overhear 
the  conversations  between  his  charge  and  the 
Dauphiness,  at  the  risk  of  being  surprised  in  that 
equivocal  attitude,  a  catastrophe  which  occurred 
one  day,  to  the  great  confusion  of  all  three. 

As  for  the  poor  little  Princess  of  fourteen, 
taken  away  from  her  mother  and  her  country, 
what  must  her  impressions  have  been  on  finding 
herself  the  wife  of  one  whom  the  Prince  de 
Ligne  described  as  "  the  best  but  not  the  most 
attractive  youth  in  his  kingdom  "  ? 

Gay,  lively,  laughter-loving  as  a  child — 
and  indeed  she  was  no  more — ignorant,  inex- 
perienced, confiding,  she  was  thrust  into  a 
gloomy  and  sullen  milieu,  surrounded  in  a 
hostile  Court  by  persons  by  no  means  kindly 
disposed   towards   her.      She   could   only  have 


8  A  FEIEND  OF  TtlE  QUEEN 

one  protector,  her  husband  ,  but  he,  privately 
disinclined  towards  a  marriage  made  up  by 
Choiseul,  and  retaining,  in  spite  of  everything, 
a  certain  distrust  of  this  Austrian  princess,  had 
neither  the  wish  nor  the  capacity  to  protect 
her.  And  Marie  Antoinette,  educated  by  the 
Abbe  Vermond,  a  Frenchman  who  possessed 
every  kind  of  esprit  except  the  religious,  had 
nothing  in  common  with  the  pupil  of  the  Due 
de  la  Vauguyon. 

Was  it  surprising  that  she,  who  had  no 
guide,  no  supporter,  should  be  guilty,  if  not  of 
faults,  at  least  of  imprudent  actions  ?  Had  she 
not  a  ready-made  excuse  in  her  natural  desire 
to  amuse  herself,  in  her  need  of  "  distraction  "  ? 
She  has  been  mercilessly  blamed  for  this  by 
some,  and  warmly  defended  by  others.  Those 
who  have  regarded  her  as  a  Messalina  have 
been  met  by  having  her  represented  as  a 
saint.  On  both  sides  there  has  been  ridiculous 
exaggeration  :  Marie  Antoinette  was  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other.  She  was  a  woman  in  the 
full  acceptation  of  the  word ;  sometimes  she 
seemed  to  be  a  mere  coquette,  sometimes  she 
displayed  real  feeling.  In  her  day  of  good  for- 
tune she  had  the  levity  and  the  grace  which 
beseemed  her  sex ;  in  her  evil  fortunes  she 
had  the  resignation  and  greatness  of  soul  that 
became  her  rank.  Amid  all  the  personages 
who  composed  the  royal  family  of  France  she 
shines  with  an  imperishable  lustre,  presenting 
herself  to  history  adorned  with  the  twofold 
crown  of  beauty  and  misfortune. 

For  close  upon  four  years  Marie  Antoinette 


THE  DAUPHINESS  9 

had  been  Daupliiness,  passing  lier  time  in  the 
surface-stir  and  profound  monotony  of  a  future 
queen's  existence,  in,  but  not  of  the  Court, 
where  Madame  du  Barry  reigned,  and  where 
Louis  XV.,  then  near  his  death,  could  barely 
drag  himself  about,  when  a  trifling  event, 
whose  future  consequences  no  one,  not  even 
the  parties  interested,  foresaw,  took  place  at 
a  ball  given  by  her  on  the  loth  of  January 
1774.  The  ambassador  from  Sweden  to  the 
Court  of  France  presented  to  the  Dauphiness 
one  of  his  countrymen,  a  young  Swede,  who 
was  travelling  to  complete  his  education — Count 
John  Axel  Fersen. 

The  daughter  of  Maria  Theresa  could  not  fail 
graciously  to  receive  the  young  foreigner,  whose 
presence  promised  to  dispel  a  little  of  the  dul- 
ness  of  the  ceremonial  entertainments  prescribed 
by  etiquette  ;  especially  as  the  personal  merit 
of  this  foreigner,  the  bearer  of  an  illustrious 
name,  whose  renown  had  reached  France,  justi- 
fied his  welcome. 

Count  Fersen,  who  was  then  in  his  nineteenth 
year,  attracted  attention  by  his  manly  beauty 
and  fine  expression,  although  the  latter  was 
rather  cold  ;  but,  as  Tilly  remarks,  "  Women  do 
not  dislike  impassive  faces  when  they  may  hope 
to  animate  them."  The  young  Swede's  counte- 
nance was  of  this  kind.  His  large,  limpid  eyes, 
shaded  by  thick  black  lashes,  had  the  calm 
outlook  of  the  Northern  people,  the  impress  of 
whose  melancholy  he  bore  ;  but  this  did  not 
always  or  completely  conceal  the  warmth  of  a 
generous  nature  quite  capable  of  passion.     He 


lo  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

had  a  small  mouth,  with  expressive  lips ;  a 
straight,  well-formed  nose ;  the  fine,  thin  nostrils 
that  are  sometimes  a  sign  of  shyness,  or,  at 
least,  of  caution  and  reserve.  His  manners 
bore  the  impress  of  nobility  and  simplicity  ; 
his  attitude  was  in  every  respect  that  of  a 
true  gentleman. 

Fersen  was  about  the  same  age  as  Marie 
Antoinette.  He  was  born  on  the  4th  of  Sep- 
tember 1755,  and  the  Dauphiness  on  the  2nd 
of  November  in  the  same  year.  Both  were 
hardly  more  than  children  when  their  first  in- 
terview took  place,  and  the  impressions  which 
they  received  from  it  were  both  keen  and  light, 
as  sentiments  generally  are  at  that  age.  Fersen 
was  naturally  flattered  by  the  welcome  he  re- 
ceived, and  charmed  by  the  grace  and  beauty  of 
the  future  Queen  of  France.  The  ball  began 
at  five  o'clock,  and  was  prolonged  until  half-past 
nine.  Count  Fersen  was  one  of  the  last  to  leave 
the  ballroom. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  on  the  30th  of  January, 
chance  contrived  for  him  a  second  meeting,  under 
less  commonplace  circumstances  than  the  first, 
and  to  this  the  girlish  spirits  of  the  young 
Princess  lent  a  striking  interest. 

It  was  at  the  masked  ball  at  the  Opera.  Fer- 
sen, like  every  intelligent  foreigner  who  wishes 
to  see  and  learn,  had  included  the  pleasures  of 
the  capital  and  the  study  of  Parisian  manners 
in  his  programme.  Besides,  at  this  epoch,  the 
Opera  balls  were  the  resort  of  the  highest,  if 
not  the  most  staid,  society.  On  that  evening 
there  was   a   crowd.     The   Swedish   gentleman 


THE  FAIR  MASK  ii 

wandered  about  among  the  masks,  looking 
and  admiring,  when  a  domino  approached  and 
began  to  coquet  with  him  gracefully.  The 
form  was  elegant,  the  voice  was  charming ;  he 
lent  himself  willingly  to  the  adventure  which 
offered  itself ;  perhaps  he  had  been  seeking  one. 
Although  his  conversation  was  not  usually  ani- 
mated, it  must  be  supposed  that  he  acquitted 
himself  well  on  the  occasion,  as  the  fair  mask 
talked  to  him  for  a  long  time. 

There  was  whispering  around  them  :  who  was 
his  unknown  ?  At  last,  as  usual,  the  secret 
came  out,  and  to  his  astonishment  he  recog- 
nised the  Dauphiness  herself,  who  took  as  much 
pleasure  in  making  herself  known  as  she  had 
derived  from  preserving  her  incognito. 

Unfortunately,  the  crowd  also  had  recognised 
Marie  Antoinette,  and  it  gathered  around  the 
two  with  the  ill-bred  eagerness  of  curiosity 
which  embarrasses  but  is  not  embarrassed.  The 
Dauphiness,  to  escape  from  this,  had  to  retire 
to  her  box,  where  the  Dauphin  and  the  Comte 
de  Provence,  who  had  accompanied  her  on  that 
evening,  were  awaiting  her.  Fersen  left  the 
scene  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  bearing 
away  a  more  deep  and  vivid  remembrance  of 
this  second  meeting  than  of  the  first,  and  in 
his  mind  a  new-born  secret  sympathy  with  the 
radiant  Princess. 

The  favour  that  had  been  shown  to  Fersen  by 
the  Dauphiness  did  more  for  him  probably  than 
the  distinction  of  his  name  and  his  personal 
merit.  He  was  invited  everywhere,  and  the 
openly-displayed   favour  of  Count  Creutz,  the 


12  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEX 

ambassador  of  Gustavus  III.  to  the  Court  of 
France,  gave  him  the  entree  of  the  foreign  salons 
also.  He  dined  with  M.  Bloome,  the  Danish 
Minister,  supped  with  the  Duchesse  d'Arville, 
and  frequently  visited  the  Spanish  ambassador, 
the  Princesse  de  Beauveau,  Mme.  du  Deffand, 
and  the  Comtesse  de  la  Mark. 

He  attended  a  ball  at  the  Palais  Poyal,  where 
he  was  "  surprised,  on  entering,  to  see  all  the 
w^omen  dressed  as  shepherdesses  in  gauze  and 
tafFety,  and  the  men  in  rich  coats,  embroidered 
on  all  the  seams." 

The  spectacle  was  quite  novel  to  him,  and  it 
shocked  him  a  little  for  a  moment.  *'  I  thought," 
he  writes,  "  that  it  was  a  public  ball,  and  that  the 
dancers  were  women  of  the  town," 

He  corrected  this  first  impression,  and  speedily 
learned  to  regard  the  ladies  whom  he  met  there 
with  different  eyes.  He  particularly  admired 
"  Mme.  de  I'Olstein,  indisputably  the  best  and 
prettiest  dancer  in  Paris." 

Nevertheless,  his  observant  turn  of  mind 
suggested  some  reflections  upon  certain  traits 
of  character,  and  certain  sayings  which  struck 
him.  "  As  I  went  away,"  he  remarks,  "  I  was 
thinking  that  the  French  do  not  know  how  to 
amuse  themselves ;  they  have  a  bad  habit  of 
always  saying,  '  I  am  bored,'  and  this  poisons 
all  their  pleasures." 

Did  Fersen,  in  making  this  remark,  show  much 
discernment?  We  take  leave  to  doubt  it,  for 
the  French  at  all  periods,  and  those  of  that  par- 
ticular time  more  than  those  of  the  present  day, 
do  not  always  say  what  they  think.     Without 


\ 


A  COURT  BALL  13 

quoting  the  too  well-known  saying  of  Talley- 
rand concerning  the  charm  of  life  prior  to  the 
Revolution,  we  may  refer  to  the  memoirs  of 
that  epoch  for  the  proof  that  there  was  not 
much  boredom  in  it. 

Fersen  was  as  much  at  Versailles  as  in  Paris, 
that  Versailles  where  royalty  had  taken  up 
its  abode  since  Louis  XIV.,  and  sat  enthroned 
far  from  the  real  people,  amid  a  world  of 
courtiers.  Fetes  followed  each  other  in  rapid 
succession.  He  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Marie 
Antoinette  again  on  Shrove  Tuesday,  the  15th 
of  February. 

The  occasion  was  a  ball,  attended  by  the 
greatest  personages,  next  to  the  old  worn-out 
King,  who  preferred  solitude  with  Mme.  du 
Barry.  The  Dauphiness  was  there,  also  her 
two  sisters-in-law,  the  Comtesse  de  Provence 
and  the  Comtesse  d'ArtoLs,  and  a  young  widow 
whose  beauty  had  captivated  J^ouis  XV.  to  such 
an  extent  that  for  a  while  some  believed  and 
others  feared  he  would  marry  her.  1'his  young 
widow  was  the  Princesse  de  Lamballe.'^  Among 
the  men  were  the  Dauphin,  the  Comte  de  Pro- 
vence, the  Comte  d'Artois,  M.  de  Segur,  and  M. 
de  Coigny,  "  all  wearing  the  Henri  IV.  costume, 
which  is  the  old  French  dress." 

The  young  Swede  remarked  that  the  Dauphin 
danced  very  badly ;  that  his  brother,  the  Comte 
de  Provence,  did  likewise ;  that  the  others  w^ere 
better,  some  of  them  even  good,  dancers;  also 
that  the  spectacle  was  charming. 

We  may  fully  believe  him. 

1  Her  husband  was  the  son  of  the  Due  de  Penthifevre. 
2 


14  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Madame  was  tall  and  dark,  with  black  arched 
eyebrows :  there  was  something  hard  in  her 
countenance  and  haughty  in  her  demeanour. 
The  Comtesse  d'Artois,  Madame's  sister,  was  very 
short,  and  her  fine  complexion  and  pleasing  ex- 
pression hardly  atoned  for  the  extreme  length 
of  her  nose.  But  then  there  was  the  Princesse 
de  Lamballe  to  attract  all  observers  by  the  sweet 
expression  of  her  angelic  face,  her  refinement 
and  grace. 

But,  above"  and  beyond  all,  the  young 
Dauphiness  shone  with  a  radiant  lustre.  A 
future  queen  by  the  right  of  her  marriage,  she 
already  wore  the  crown  by  right  of  her  beauty. 
"  Let  us  picture  to  ourselves  a  dazzlingly  fair 
complexion,  in  which  the  tints  of  the  earliest 
summer  roses  are  blended ;  large,  prominent 
eyes  of  azure  blue ;  a  forehead  crowned  with 
luxuriant  fair  hair,  bearing  the  impress  of 
majesty  and  frankness,  gave  the  noblest  ex- 
pression to  her  whole  countenance.  This  was 
enhanced  by  the  perfect  shape  of  her  nose.  The 
only  defect  in  the  face  of  the  lovely  Princess  was 
the  slight  protrusion  of  the  lower  lip ;  but  this 
was  a  distinctive  feature  of  the  house  of  Austria, 
and  reminded  all  that  she  was  the  daughter  of 
Maria  Theresa.  Her  figure  was  shapely  and  tall 
for  her  age  ;  her  neck  and  bust  were  perfect ; 
her  hands  beautiful ;  her  legs  and  feet  worthy 
of  the  Venus  de  Medicis.  Her  movements  were 
easy  and  graceful,  her  whole  person  was  delight- 
fully harmonious,  so  that  none  could  behold  her 
without  admiration,  because  she  always  desired 
to  please  all  whom  she  saw." 


INBORN  MAJESTY  15 

We  need  not  be  surprised  or  shocked  by  the 
mention  of  the  legs  and  feet  of  Marie  Antoinette, 
for  this  portrait  is  drawn  by  an  artist  who  was 
privileged  to  observe  them,  the  famous  dress- 
maker, Mdlle.  Bertin. 

These  details  justify  the  eulogium  of  the 
writer ;  but  according  to  contemporaries  the 
general  aspect  of  the  Princess  deserved  even 
greater  admiration.  Count  Tilly,  who  was  one 
of  her  pages,  sums  up  the  common  impression. 
He  writes : — 

"  She  had  that  which  is  of  higher  price  upon 
the  throne  than  perfect  beauty,  the  face  of  a 
Queen  of  France,  even  at  those  moments  in 
which  she  sought  to  appear  only  as  a  pretty 
woman.  She  had  two  ways  of  walking — one  was 
firm,  rather  quick,  and  always  noble  ;  the  other 
more  leisurely  and  balanced — I  might  almost 
say  it  was  a  caressing  movement,  but  it  never 
tempted  any  to  forgetfulness  of  respect.  Never 
did  woman  curtsey  with  such  grace,  saluting  ten 
persons  by  one  bend  of  her  body,  and  giving  each 
his  or  her  share  by  the  movement  of  her  head 
and  eyes.  In  a  word,  it  w^ould  have  come  as 
naturally  to  every  man  to  bring  forward  a  throne 
for  her  as  to  oft'er  a  chair  to  any  other  woman." 

Notwithstanding  the  pleasant  manner  of  the 
Dauphiness  and  her  frank  and  familiar  reception 
of  him.  Count  Fersen  maintained  the  perfect 
reserve  of  a  great  gentleman,  who  always  bears 
in  mind  that  it  is  for  princes  to  attract  their 
inferiors  to  them,  and  not  for  the  latter  to  assert 
themselves.  He  admired  the  Princess  none  the 
less  fervently,  however,  and  it  may  safely  be 


1 6  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

affirmed  tliat  on  leaving  France  he  carried  within 
his  breast  the  germ  of  that  deep  attachment 
which  made  him  in  later  days  the  Queen's  most 
ardent  defender,  and  the  woman's  most  devoted 
servant. 

For  he  had  to  depart  before  long.  His  pro- 
gramme of  travel  included  a  visit  to  London ; 
and  however  strong  the  attraction  that  detained 
him  might  be,  he  was  obliged  to  obey  his  father's 
instructions.  He  left  Paris  on  the  1 2  th  of  May. 
The  fetes,  too,  had  come  to  an  end  ;  not  because 
Lent  had  begun — he  remarks  in  his  Journal 
that  the  fair  Parisians  do  not  observe  the  peni- 
tential season  so  strictly  as  to  forego  "  dancing 
suppers" — but  because  Louis  XV.,  who  had 
fallen  sick  of  confluent  small-pox  on  the  28th  of 
April,  died  on  the  loth  of  May. 

A  few  days  after  Count  Fersen's  departure. 
Count  Creutz  sent  the  following  despatch  to 
Gustavus  HL  : — 

"  The  young  Count  Fersen  has  just  left  Paris. 
Of  all  the  Swedes  who  have  been  here  in  my  time 
he  has  been  the  best  received  in  the  great  world. 
He  has  been  extremely  well  treated  by  the  royal 
family.  No  one  could  possibly  have  behaved  with 
greater  discretion  and  decorum.  With  his  hand- 
some face  and  his  intelligence  he  could  not  fail  to 
succeed  in  society,  and  he  has  done  so  completely. 
Your  Majesty  will  assuredly  be  glad  to  hear  this  ; 
but  what  will  make  Count  Fersen  especially 
worthy  of  your  Majesty's  favour  is  that  he  pos- 
sesses singular  nobility  and  elevation  of  mind." 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  sojourn  of  one 
of  his  subjects  in   France,  and  the  conduct  of 


"  HATS  "  AND  «  CAPS  "  17 

a  young  man  of  nineteen,  should  so  deeply 
interest  a  king  as  to  occupy  a  place  in  the  diplo- 
matic correspondence  of  his  ambassador ;  but 
the  youth  in  question  was  the  representative  of 
one  of  the  hio-hest  and  most  ancient  families 
among  the  Swedish  aristocracy,  and  although  no 
one  could  have  foreseen  the  part  which  he  was 
destined  to  act  in  the  future,  every  one  regarded 
him  as  capable  of  playing  a  distinguished  one. 

The  Fersen  family  was  of  old  Livonian  origin, 
and  had  made  its  mark  in  Swedish  history  in 
the  successive  reigns  of  Christina,  Charles  X., 
and  Charles  XI.  Three  of  its  members  were 
distinguished  in  the  Council  of  the  kings,  and 
were  made  senators,  three  in  the  army ;  each 
of  the  latter  became  a  Field-Marshal. 

Political  parties  in  Sweden  in  the  eighteenth 
century  were  divided  into  two  great  branches, 
that  of  the  Hats,  which  was  favourable  to 
French,  and  that  of  the  Caps,  which  represented 
Russian,  influence.  The  Fersens,  with  almost 
the  whole  of  the  nobility,  took  the  side  of  the 
Hats,  and  Count  Frederick  Axel  Fersen,  Count 
John's  father,  became  the  head  of  the  party. 

His  influence  was  considerable  ;  he  was  equally 
active  and  eloquent,  and  it  certainly  required  all 
his  skill  to  lead  the  liberal  opposition  in  its  con- 
flict with  the  royal  power,  which  was  tending 
more  and  more  to  confiscate  the  national  liberty 
and  ignore  the  authority  of  the  laws,  in  order 
to  transform  itself  into  a  despotism  equally 
prejudicial  to  the  nation  and  opposed  to  the 
fundamental  compact  of  the  Constitution. 

Count   Frederick   Fersen    had    lived    out   of 


1 8  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Sweden  for  a  long  time.  (Is  it  not  marvellous 
to  observe  the  readiness  with  which  the  longest 
journeys  were  undertaken  at  an  epoch  when  the 
means  of  locomotion  by  land  and  sea  were  so 
defective  ?)  He  came  to  France  in  the  beginning 
of  the  reign  of  Louis  XV.,  and  remained  there 
for  several  years;  he  even  took  service  in 
the  French  army  and  attained  the  rank  of 
major.^  After  he  returned  to  his  own  coun- 
try, his  military  abilities  were  recognised  and 
utilised  by  his  being  given  a  command  in 
Pomerania. 

He  was  three  times  Marshal  of  the  Diet,  and 
played  a  great  part  in  the  Assembly  of  the 
States  in  1736.  Some  time  previously  he  had 
married  Countess  Hedwige  Catherine  de  la 
Gardie,  who  bore  him  one  son,  John,  and  two 
daughters.  The  latter  became  respectively 
Baroness  Klinckowstrom  and  Countess  Piper. 

At  that  time  it  was  the  custom  that  the 
descendants  of  great  families  should  make  a 
journey  in  Europe,  and  this  was  called  "the 
grand  tour."  The  patriotic  "  idea  "  had  not  then 
entered  upon  the  acute  and  jealous  phase  which 
it  has  assumed  in  our  day,  and  service  in  foreign 
countries  was  considered  the  most  natural  thing 
in  the  world ;  gentlemen  of  every  nationality 
being  held  to  belong,  after  a  fashion,  to  all 
the  sovereigns.  Thus,  Count  Frederick  Fersen 
obtained  for  his  son  the  rank  of  lieutenant 
"attached  to"  or  "with"  the  Royal  Baviere 
regiment^  in  the  French  army,  although  Count 
John  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Smaland  cavalry, 

^  Marechal-de-camp.  ^  Lieutenant  k  la  suite. 


VOLTAIRE  19 

The  honorary  title  did  not  carry  the  obligation 
of  residence,  for  Count  John,  going  to  fulfil  its 
functions,  took  the  proverbial  "schoolboy's  road." 
He  left  Sweden  in  1771,  and  went  in  the  first 
instance  to  the  Brunswick  Military  School  at 
Turin,  sojourning  for  some  time  afterwards  at 
Strasburg. 

He  then  visited  several  countries,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  peregrinations  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  meeting  a  man  whose  unequalled  cele- 
brity had  made  him  popular  throughout  the 
whole  of  Europe,  and  who  certainly  deserved 
that  a  traveller  should  turn  aside  from  his 
direct  road,  if  it  were  only  to  obtain  a  glimpse 
of  him.  Voltaire,  in  his  retirement  at  Ferney, 
enjoyed  the  renown  which  is  rarely  accorded  to 
a  great  man  until  after  his  death.  He  was  both 
clever  and  lucky.  Although  he  was  a  very 
middling  poet,  his  tragedies  were  applauded  to 
the  echo ;  although  he  was  occasionally  a  super- 
ficial writer,  his  slightest  productions  were  dis- 
cussed and  praised,  and  he  had  contrived  to 
secure  concurrently  the  dislike,  the  admiration, 
and  the  friendship  of  the  greatest  personages  of 
his  day,  in  proportions  admirably  calculated  to 
spread  his  fame. 

Posterity,  which  frequently  pulls  down  those 
who  have  been  highly  favoured  by  their  con- 
temporaries, has  not  been  too  hard  upon  Vol- 
taire, and  illustrious  writers  have  judged  him 
with  the  serene  impartiality  of  genius.  It  will 
not  be  out  of  place  here  to  recall  Lamartine's 
remarks  in  L'Histoire  des  Girondins : — 

"  Voltaire  possessed  the  genius  of  criticism, 


20  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

the  mockino;  neofation  that  blights  all  that  it 
overthrows.  He  had  made  human  nature  laugh 
at  itself;  he  had  struck  it  down  to  raise  it  up 
again ;  he  had  displayed  before  it  all  the  pre- 
judices, all  the  errors,  all  the  iniquities,  all  the 
crimes  of  ignorance ;  he  had  driven  it  into 
insurrection  against  established  ideas,  not  by- 
enthusiasm  for  the  future,  but  by  scorn  of  the 
past.  Destiny  had  given  him  eighty  years  of 
life  in  which  to  decompose  the  old  world 
slowly ;  he  had  had  time  to  fight  against  time, 
and  when  he  fell  it  was  as  a  conqueror.  Courts, 
Academies,  and  Salons  were  peopled  by  his 
disciples." 

This  was  true,  and  were  a  proof  of  its  truth 
needed,  where  should  we  find  one  more  con- 
vincing than  the  following  remarks  of  a  con- 
temporary whose  turn  of  mind  and  intellectual 
culture  were  all  unlike,  indeed  opposed  to,  the 
genius  of  the  terrible  jester  ? 

The  Comte  de  Segur  met  Voltaire  one  day 
at  his  mother's  house,  and  he  records  the  im- 
pression made  upon  him  in  an  almost  lyrical 
passage. 

"  When  I  saw  Voltaire,  he  realised  my  ideal 
portrait  of  him.  His  meagre  frame  bore  the 
traces  of  his  life  of  labour ;  his  antique  and 
singular  costume  reminded  me  that  he  was  the 
last  survivor  of  the  age  of  Louis  XIV.,  the  his- 
torian of  that  century,  and  the  immortal  painter 
of  Henri  IV.  His  piercing  eye  glittered  with 
genius  and  satire ;  in  its  glance  one  recog- 
nised the  tragic  poet,  the  author  of  Q^diioe  and 
Mahomet,  the  profound  philosopher,  the  acute 


VISIT  TO  FEENEY  21 

and  ingenious  narrator,  the  witty  and  satirical 
observer  of  mankind  ;  his  slender  bent  body  was 
but  a  thin,  almost  transparent  covering,  through 
which  his  soul  and  his  genius  shone.  I  was 
filled  with  pleasure  and  admiration." 

What  enthusiasm  concerning  a  man  who 
never  felt  any  !  And  how  simple-minded  young 
Segur  must  have  been  to  praise  in  such  terms 
"  the  author  of  Q^dipe  and  Mahomet, ^^  and 
to  call  the  maker  of  bad  rhymes  who  had 
written  La  Henriade  "  the  immortal  painter  of 
Henri  IV. "  ! 

It  is  amusing  to  compare  the  few  lines  which 
Count  John  Axel  Fersen  devotes  to  the  great 
man  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  Ferney,  with 
the  foregoing  effusion.  There  is  none  of  the 
young  Frenchman's  poetry  in  those  lines ;  the 
calm,  observant  mind  of  the  young  Swede  is  com- 
pletely manifested  in  the  simplicity  of  his  narra- 
tive and  in  the  moderation  of  his  sentiments. 

Count  Fersen,  being  at  Geneva  with  his 
"  governor,"  Bolemanny,  on  the  30th  of  October 
1 77 1,  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to 
obtain  a  sioht  of  "the  man  of  the  asje."  M. 
Constant,  an  intimate  friend  of  Voltaire,  gave 
the  two  gentlemen  a  letter  of  introduction  ;  this, 
however,  did  not  do  much  for  them  :  on  present- 
ing themselves  at  the  philosopher's  pretty  house 
they  were  refused  admittance.  The  master  had 
"  taken  medicine."  He  habitually  resorted  to 
this  pretext  when  he  did  not  wish  to  receive 
visits ;  he  might  have  found  a  better,  but  the 
matter  was  too  small  for  consideration  by  so 
great  a  mind. 


22  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  travellers  had  to  wait  until  the  morrow, 
"  and  thus  we  were  obliged  to  remain  one  day 
more,"  remarks  Fersen  in  his  Journal. 

Were  they  compensated  for  this  alteration  in 
their  plan  by  the  pleasure  they  derived  from  the 
visit  when  it  did  come  off?  It  would  seem,  at 
least  in  so  far  as  Fersen  was  concerned,  that  his 
curiosity  only  was  satisfied.  His  brief  record  of 
the  incident  manifests  no  enthusiasm  : — 

"  We  were  received  at  the  appointed  time, 
and  we  talked  with  him  for  two  hours.  He 
was  dressed  in  a  scarlet  vest  with  embroidered 
button-holes ;  no  doubt,  his  father  and  grand- 
father had  worn  it.  An  old  wig,  not  curled ; 
shoes  after  the  antique  ;  woollen  stockings  rolled 
up  over  his  breeches,  and  an  old  dressing-gown 
completed  his  toilet.  It  harmonised  admirably 
with  his  deeply  wrinkled  face ;  but  we  were 
struck  by  the  beauty  of  his  eyes  and  the 
vivacity  of  his  expression.  The  face,  taken  as 
a  whole,  is  entirely  satirical. 

"  He  has  in  his  house  P^re  Adam,  a  Jesuit, 
and  his  valet,  who  knows  all  his  master's  library 
by  heart.  M.  de  Voltaire  does  a  great  deal  of 
good  in  his  village ;  he  collects  all  the  clock- 
makers  from  Geneva,  and  allows  them  to  work 
at  his  house ;  the  part  in  which  he  had  set  up  a 
theatre  being  now  converted  into  a  series  of  lodg- 
ing-rooms which  he  has  placed  at  their  disposal. 
He  has  also  provided  for  their  immediate  needs." 

This  is  all.  John  Fersen  was  evidently  not 
thinking  either  of  the  writer  or  the  philosopher 
while  writing  these  lines.  He  did  not  recognise 
either  in  the  man. 


DEVOTION^  AND  DU  BARRY  23 

From  Geneva  he  had  proceeded  to  Turin, 
where  he  was  presented  to  the  King,  "  a  little, 
wrinkled  old  fellow,  walking  with  the  help  of 
a  cane,"  who  advised  him  "  to  profit  diligently 
by  the  teaching  of  the  Academy." 

Passing  by  way  of  Milan,  he  saw  the  Arch- 
Duke,  who  "  talked  to  him  for  a  whole  quarter 
of  an  hour."  This  did  not  prevent  his  recording 
that  "the  number  of  visitors  who  formerly 
stopped  here  has  greatly  diminished,"  and  that 
"  visitors,  wanting  to  escape  from  the  trouble 
of  a  presentation  at  Court,  which  involves  three 
days'  formalities  at  least,  hasten  away  from 
Milan  so  soon  as  they  have  seen  its  curiosities ; 
a  custom  not  amusing  for  the  Milanese." 

The  traveller  cared  little  for  any  of  these 
things ;  his  eager  desire  was  to  reach  France. 
At  last,  on  the  ist  of  January  1774,  he  was 
present  at  the  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  he 
paid  a  visit  to  Mme.  du  Barry. 

These  two  duties — unequally  prescribed  by 
moral  rules  and  those  of  etiquette — accom- 
plished, the  young  Count  was  free  to  do  as 
he  liked.  We  have  seen  how  he  used  his 
freedom,  and  what  were  the  events,  very  small 
in  appearance,  but  big  with  consequences,  which 
marked  his  sojourn  in  Paris  and  at  Versailles. 

He  left  Paris  on  the  12  th  of  May,  arrived 
in  London  on  the  26th,  and  remained  in 
England  four  months.  His  impressions  are 
influenced  by  the  comparison  with  his  recol- 
lections of  France  which  he  was  constrained  to 
institute. 

He  was  presented  to  Queen  Charlotte,  who 


24  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

received  him  graciously ;  but  he  remarked  that 
"  she  was  not  at  all  pretty." 

He  was  not  charmed  by  English  "  high  life," 
in  which  he  naturally  moved,  owing  to  his  social 
relations.  The  French,  he  observed,  would  pro- 
test, while  amusing  themselves,  that  they  were 
bored,  while  the  English,  although  really  bored 
to  extinction,  said  nothing. 

He  was  taken  by  Count  X.  to  Almack's.  To 
his  great  surprise,  he  saw  all  the  ladies  seated  on 
benches  to  the  right  and  left  of  a  wide  gallery, 
waiting  for  the  men — who  preferred  remaining 
at  their  clubs  as  late  as  possible — and  they  were 
not  even  talking  among  themselves. 

The  supper  was  less  dull  than  the  rest.  Per- 
haps this  more  favourable  impression  may  be 
attributed  to  the  fact  that  Fersen  was  seated 
by  the  side  of  one  of  the  handsomest  girls  in 
London,  "who  talked  pleasantly  with  him." 
But  when  a  few  days  afterwards  he  met  her 
again  and  addressed  her  politely,  "  she  did  not 
even  answer  him."  ^ 

^  The  entry  in  Count  Fersen's  Journal  relating  to  this 
incident  is  as  follows  : — 

"Thursday,  igth  May  1774. — I  have  been  presented  to 
the  Queen,  who  is  very  gracious  and  amiable,  but  not  at 

all  pretty.     In  the  evening  I  was  taken  by  Comte to 

Almack's,  a  subscription  l)ull  which  is  held  during  the 
winter.  The  room  in  Avhich  Ihey  dance  is  well  arranged 
and  brilliantly  lighted.  The  ball  is  supposed  to  begin  at 
ten  o'clock,  but  the  men  remain  at  their  clubs  until  half- 
past  eleven.  Duiing  this  time  the  women  are  kept  waiting, 
seated  on  sofas  on  either  side  of  the  great  gallery  in  great 
formality;  one  would  fancy  oneself  in  a  church,  they  look 
so  serious  and  quiet,  not  even  talking  amongst  themselves. 
The  supper,  which  is  at  twelve  o'clock,  is  very  well  served, 


MAKIE  ANTOINETTE  QUEEN  25 

What  a  difference  between  this  sort  of  thing 
and  Parisian  society  !  We  may  safely  conclude 
that  when  he  returned  to  Sweden  at  the  begin- 
ning of  1775,  of  all  his  recollections,  that  of  his 
meetings  with  the  Dauphiness  was  the  most 
vivid  and  the  sweetest,  and  that  it  remained  in 
his  memory  a  gleam  of  light.  Did  not  after 
events  prove  that  so  it  was  with  him  ? 

During  his  absence  grave  events  had  occurred 
in  France.  A  demise  of  the  crown  had  taken 
place,  the  Dauphin  was  now  Louis  XVL,  and 
the  domino  who  had  so  prettily  puzzled  Count 
Fersen  one  evening  at  a  masked  ball  at  the 
Opera  was  Queen  of  France. 

and  somewhat  less  dull  than  the  rest  of  the  entertainment. 
I  was  placed  by  the  side  of  Lady  Carpenter,*  one  of  the 
handsomest  girls  in  Ltjndon ;  she  was  very  agreeable,  and 
conversed  a  great  deal.  I  had  occasion  to  meet  her  again 
some  days  later,  when,  to  some  civil  remark  I  addressed  her 
with,  she  did  not  even  reply.  It  surprises  one  to  see  young 
girls  talking  unreservedly  with  men,  and  going  about  by 
themselves;  I  am  reminded  of  Lusaune  in  tliis,  where  also 
they  enjoy  complete  liberty." — Translator's  Note. 

*  Lady  Alraeria  Carpenter,  daughter  of  Lord  TyrconneL 


CHAPTER  11. 

Count  John  in  Sweden — Gustavus  III. — The  Count's  second 
visit  to  Fiance — The  Queen  recognises  him  and  is  pleased 
at  seeing  him  again — Mutual  liking — Count  Creutz's  despatch 
to  the  King  of  Sweden — A  project  of  marriage  attributed  to 
Count  Fersen — Mdlle.  de  Leijel — He  starts  for  America. 

On  his  return  to  his  own  country,  Count  Fersen 
found  himself  obliged  by  his  position  to  lead 
the  idle  and  futile  life  of  a  courtier. 

The  King  of  Sweden,  being  full  of  the  memory 
of  Louis  XIV.,  was  exclusively  bent  upon  imitat- 
ing "  the  great  monarch,"  and  as  imitation  of 
him  in  big  things  was  out  of  the  power  of 
Gustavus,  he  fell  back  upon  little  things,  en- 
deavouring by  display,  entertainments,  and 
prodigality,  to  reproduce  the  splendour  of  the 
"  Sun-King "  in  his  chilly  realm. 

Such  a  life  could  not  be  pleasing  to  Count 
Fersen,  perhaps  not  only  because  it  was  idle, 
and  out  of  harmony  with  his  tastes,  but  also 
because  his  travels  in  other  lands  had  introduced 
him  to  other  modes  of  existence,  and  he  now 
had  new  ideas  and  aspirations. 

How  could  he  fail  to  regret  France,  and,  with 
France,  all  that  had  contributed  to  make  the 
time  he  had  passed  there  the  most  agreeable 
period  of  his  life  ? 

He  might,  however,  have  expected  that  his 

King  would  share  his  admiration  for  her  who 

26 


KING  GUSTAVUS  27 

occupied  so  large  a  place  in  liis  mind,  in 
anticipation  of  the  time  when  she  was  to  be 
deeply  rooted  in  his  heart. 

Gustavus  III.  had  been  in  France ;  he  had 
seen  the  Dauphiness  ;  but — a  strange  thing — no 
sympathy  had  been  felt  by  one  for  the  other. 
Quite  the  contrary,  indeed ;  there  was  nothing 
to  indicate  that  the  future  would  one  day  con- 
tradict the  past,  and  that  of  all  the  sovereigns 
of  Europe  the  King  of  Sweden  would  be  the 
most  generous,  ardent,  and  chivalrous  champion 
of  the  cause  of  Marie  Antoinette. 

But  this  disinterested  sentiment,  which  arose 
from  an  innately  lofty,  rather  than  a  modern, 
conception  of  the  rights  and  the  duties  of  princes, 
had  not  yet  been  awakened.  Gustavus,  who  was 
at  that  time  Crown  Prince  (he  received  the  in- 
telligence of  the  death  of  his  father  on  the  ist 
of  March  1771,  while  he  was  in  Paris),  had 
excited  only  a  certain  amount  of  curiosity.  He 
was  of  middle  height,  had  dull  blue  eyes,  and 
did  not  make  a  "  success."  He  talked  readily, 
and  indeed  too  much  ;  he  was  polite  rather  than 
affable,  and  was  supposed  to  be  indifferent  to 
the  charms  of  the  fair  sex.  Now,  women  really 
care  only  for  men  who  care  for  them.  Notwith- 
standing his  cold  reception,  Gustavus  professed  a 
warm  admiration  for  France.  The  ignominy  of 
the  later  years  of  Louis  XV.  had  not  destroyed 
the  supremacy  which  our  country,  strong  in 
the  great  memories  of  its  might  and  majesty 
in  the  past,  and  still  stronger  in  the  glorious 
expectation  of  its  future  destinies,  maintained 
over  the  whole  world.     Rosbach  had  not  effaced 


28  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Fontenoy.  Gustavus  IIL  regarded  Count  Fer- 
sen's  wish  to  return  to  fair  France  as  quite 
natural,  and,  Sweden  being  in  the  enjoyment 
of  profound  peace,  he  could  safely  consent 
to  the  absence  of  the  young  gentleman  who 
had  become  captain  "attached"  to  the  King's 
Light  Horse.  His  Majesty  therefore  confirmed 
the  paternal  permission,  and  Count  Fersen 
retraced  his  steps  towards  France  with  the 
utmost  alacrity. 

He  arrived  in  the  middle  of  August  1778. 
Three  years  had  elapsed.  The  Count  did  not 
indeed  suppose  that  he  had  been  altogether  for- 
gotten, but  he  was  not  prepared  for  the  welcome 
that  awaited  him.  He  proceeded  at  once  to 
Versailles,  and  had  himself  presented  to  the 
royal  family  as  though  this  were  his  first  appear- 
ance at  Court.  A  voice  exclaimed,  "  Ah,  an  old 
acquaintance ! "  ^ 

Marie  Antoinette  had  recognised  him.  We 
may  conceive  the  pleasure  with  which  Count 
John  received  this  precious  token  of  royal  kind- 
ness. A  courtier  would  have  been  overwhelmed 
with  joy :  he  was  a  man  of  feeling,  and  it  touched 
him  deeply.  The  grace  of  the  Queen's  spon- 
taneous recognition  was  enhanced  by  his  speedy 
conviction  that  it  was  not  due  to  the  caprice  of 
the  moment  or  the  hazard  of  a  fortunate  meeting. 
The  Queen  took  pleasure  in  giving  him  some 
daily  token  of  her  regard.  He  informs  his 
father  of  this  with  delight. 

"  The    Queen,    the    prettiest    and    the    most 

^  He  adds,  in  liis  account  of  this  incident  to  liis  father,  "  The 
rest  of  the  royal  family  did  not  say  a  word." 


THE  QUEEN  29 

amiable  princess  whom  I  know,"  he  writes  on 
the  8th  of  September,  "has  had  the  goodness 
to  make  frequent  inquiry  for  me ;  she  asked 
Creutz  why  I  do  not  come  to  her  reception 
(jeu)^  on  Sundays,  and  having  been  told  that 
1  did  go,  on  a  day  when  the  reception  did  not 
take  place,  she  made  me  a  kind  of  apology." 

Their  mutual  relation  w^as  no  longer  as  it  had 
been  during  the  Count's  first  visit,  kindly,  with 
a  touch  of  familiarity  on  the  occasion  of  the 
masked  ball ;  it  had  become  almost  intimate. 
The  Queen  and  the  Count  met  very  often.  She, 
whom  Mme.  du  Barry  called  "the  little  red- 
head," now  Queen  of  France,  had  lost  her 
youthful  shyness,  and  being  less  restrained  in 
her  sayings  and  doings,  she  made  no  secret  of 
her  liking  for  amusement ;  and  at  the  risk 
of  horrifying  the  Comtesse  de  Noailles,  whom 
she  jestingly  nicknamed  "  Madame  I'Etiquette," 
she  gave  herself  up  to  the  joy  of  living, 
and  asked  no  better  than  to  lead  the  life  of  a 
mere  hourgeoise,  far  from  the  obligations  of  the 
Court,  and  free  from  the  boredom  of  supreme 
rank. 

This  was  easy  for  Marie  Antoinette,  because 
she  now  possessed  a  retreat  in  which  she  might 
lay  aside  her  greatness  and  escape  from  tiresome 
folk.  The  King,  awkwardly  kind  and  clumsily 
gallant,  had  made  her  a  present  on  New  Year's 
Day,  1774.  "You  love  flowers?"  he  said  to 
the  astonished  Queen.  "  Well,  then,  I  have  a 
bouquet  to  give  you  :  it  is  the  Little  Trianon." 

^  Trictrac,  quinze,  and  billiards  was  played  at  le  jeu  de  la 
Eeine. 


30  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Thenceforth,  Marie  Antoinette,  being  free  to 
select  her  own  society,  began  little  by  little  to 
indulge  in  fancies,  which,  although  very  natu- 
ral on  the  part  of  a  young  woman,  could  not 
fail  to  expose  a  Queen  of  France  to  adverse 
criticism. 

The  representatives  of  the  old  French  families 
were  shocked  by  her  ways — even  her  habit  of 
according  a  ready  welcome  to  foreigners  offended 
them ;  but  what  did  she  care  ?  It  was  so 
pleasant  to  have  friends  and  not  mere  courtiers 
about  her,  or  only — for  she  was  not  apt  at  dis- 
cerning the  difference — courtiers  whom  she  took 
to  be  friends. 

Fersen  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  favoured 
of  this  limitedly-intimate  circle.  Encouraged 
by  Marie  Antoinette  herself,  "  the  most  amiable 
princess  whom  he  knows,"  he  attended  her  re- 
ceptions frequently,  and  on  each  occasion  she 
noticed  his  presence,  and  addressed  him  with 
graceful  and  gracious  kindness,  by  which  he  was 
profoundly  affected. 

One  day  somebody  alluded  before  the  Queen 
to  the  Swedish  uniform  of  the  young  captain  of 
Light  Horse ;  she  immediately  took  a  fancy  to 
see  him  in  that  costume,  and  expressed  her  wish. 
A  few  days  afterwards  Fersen,  happy  to  obey 
her,  appeared  in  the  private  apartments  wearing 
his  handsome  uniform. 

He  attended  the  soirees  intimes  at  Trianon, 
and  figured  at  the  fetes  given  in  honour  of 
the  Queen  by  Mme.  de  Lamballe  and  Mme.  de 
Polignac. 

By    degrees    the    intimacy    between     Marie 


ADMIRATION  AND  LOVE  31 

Antoinette  and  Count  John  increased;  notwith- 
standing his  reserve  and  his  apparently  cold 
nature,  it  was  evident  that  his  admiration  had 
given  place  to  a  more  tender  feeling.  Fersen 
was  deeply  in  love  with  the  Queen. 

She,  whose  imprudence  had  kindled  the  flame, 
was  neither  frightened  nor  surprised.  She  liked 
to  see  the  young  Swede ;  she  knew  he  loved  her, 
and  she  was  not  displeased ;  nay,  more,  touched 
by  the  sentiment  she  had  inspired,  she  came 
very  near  to  returning  it ;  how  could  she  fail  to 
be  moved  by  a  passion  so  profound,  so  discreet, 
so  respectful  ?  Her  heart  was  softened,  and 
many  signs  betrayed  the  young  Queen's  predi- 
lection for  the  adorer  who  dared  not  tell  his 
love,  to  the  sharp  eyes  of  some  of  her  familiar 
associates. 

One  day,  when  she  was  singing  to  her  harp- 
sichord, Fersen  was  by  her  side,  and  she  was 
betrayed  by  her  own  music  into  an  avowal  which 
song  made  easy.  Her  eyes  sought  the  Count's 
while  her  voice  uttered  the  passionate  words 
of  some  fashionable  opera,  and  his  ill-disguised 
emotion  emphasised  an  evident  allusion.^ 

Less  than  this  would  have  sufficed  to  gain 
the  credit  of  a  royal  "  bonne  fortune "  for  the 
brilliant  Swedish  officer.      Did  he  not  possess 

^  M.  GeofFroy  states,  in  his  Gustave  III.  et  la  Cour  de  France, 
that  Count  Fersen's  friend  and  travelling  companion,  Stedingk, 
was  also  received  in  the  Queen's  intimate  circle.  The  com- 
promising couplet  of  the  above  anecdote  was  the  following,  from 
the  now-forgotten  opera  of  "  Didon  "  : — 

"  Ah  !  que  je  f us  bien  inspiree 
Quand  je  vous  regus  dans  ma  cour." 

— Translator's  Note. 


32  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

all  the  attributes  of  a  hero  of  romance,  and 
had  not  she,  who  was  thenceforth  regarded  as 
his  "conquest,"  an  excuse  in  advance  of  the 
fact  for  yielding  to  the  promptings  of  her  heart  ? 
The  beautiful  young  Queen  had  found  neither 
the  majesty  of  a  king  nor  the  affection  of  a 
husband  in  her  consort,  and  the  personal  rela- 
tions of  the  royal  couple  were  well  known. 

From  the  first,  Marie  Antoinette,  whose 
womanly  pride  was  hurt  by  the  Dauphin's  in- 
difference to  her,  formed  a  "  poor  notion  (mince 
id4e)  of  the  character  and  intellect  of  her  hus- 
band." M.  de  Mercy,  who  transmitted  this 
impression  to  the  Empress  Maria  Theresa,  wrote 
that  in  his  opinion  her  daughter's  notion  of 
Louis  was  too  poor ;  but  was  he  a  good  judge, 
and  would  he  not  have  agreed  with  the  young 
Princess  afterwards  if  he  had  seen  the  King 
elsewhere  than  at  the  solemn  function  of  a 
reception  of  the  Austrian  ambassador  ?  If  he 
could  have  read  the  journal  of  the  personage 
whom  Marie  Antoinette  once  called  "  poor 
man ! "  he  would  have  been  convinced,  and 
forced  to  recognise  that  her  estimate  of  her 
husband  was  just.  What  is  to  be  thought  of 
a  prince  who,  in  the  very  month  of  his  mar- 
riage, finds  nothing  more  sentimental  or  inte- 
resting to  set  down  than  the  following  : — 

Sunday,  13. — Left  Versailles.  Supped  and  slept  at  Com- 
piegne  at  the  house  of  M.  de  Saint  Florentin. 

Monday,  14, — Inter vie^o  tcith  Madame  la  Dauphine. 

Ttiesday,  15. — Supped  at  La  Muette.     Slep)t  at  Versailles. 

Wednesday,  16. — My  marriage.  Apartment  in  the  gal- 
lery.    Royal  banquet  in  the  Salle  d^  Opera. 

Thursday,  17. — Opera  of  Perseus. 


WOUNDED  PEIDE  33 

Friday,  18.  —  Stag  hunt.  Meet  at  La  Belle  Image. 
Took  one. 

Saturday,  19. — Dress-hall  in  the  Salle  d' Opera.  Fire- 
worlis. 

The  montli's  chronicle  ends  with  this  charac- 
teristic record  :— 

31. — /  had  an  indigestion. 

For  seven  years,  Marie  Antoinette's  sole 
wifely  privilege  was  the  beholding  of  her  stupid 
husband  as  he  ate,  drank,  hunted,  and  did  his 
locksmith's  work.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that 
she  was  wounded  to  the  heart  by  such  extra- 
ordinary indifference,  and  that  she  sometimes 
allowed  bitter  and  sarcastic  words  to  escape 
her  lips ;  for  instance,  when  she  impatiently 
answered  one  of  her  ladies,  who  urged  her  not 
to  go  out  riding — 

"  For  God's  sake,  leave  me  in  peace,  and 
know  once  for  all  that  I  am  not  endangerino^ 
an  heir !  ' 

The  following  passage  from  a  letter  written 
at  this  period  by  the  Queen  to  the  Comte  de 
Rosenberg  Orsini  throws  a  strong  light  upon 
the  feelings  of  the  neglected  wife : — "  I  shall 
never  trouble  myself  about  the  stories  that 
go  to  Vienna,"  she  writes,  "  so  long  as  you  are 
told  of  them.  You  know  Paris  and  Versailles  ; 
you  have  seen  and  judged.  If  I  had  to  excuse 
myself,  I  should  readily  confide  in  you ;  indeed, 
I  would  candidly  acknowledge  more  than  you 
say ;  for  instance,  that  my  tastes  are  not  the 
same  as  those  of  the  King,  who  cares  only  for 
hunting  and  blacksmith's  work.  You  will  admit 
that  I  should  not  show  to  advantage  in  a  forge. 


34  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

I  could  not  appear  there  as  Vulcan,  and  the  part 
of  Venus  might  displease  him  even  more  than 
my  tastes,  which,  however,  he  does  not  dislike." 

The  result  of  such  a  situation,  so  prolonged, 
was  that,  when  Louis  XVL,  yielding  to  the  re- 
monstrances of  his  brother-in-law,  the  Emperor 
of  Austria,  and  comprehending  at  length  that  he 
owed  it  to  the  crown  of  France  to  give  it  an 
heir,  became  the  husband  of  his  wife,  it  was  too 
late  for  him  to  gain  her  affection.  Her  heart 
was  still  to  be  won,  and  the  prize  fell  to  Fersen. 

But,  at  the  very  moment  when  he  might 
regard  himself  as  the  fortunate  winner  of  a 
woman  and  a  queen,  well  accustomed  to  homage, 
and  to  whom  vows,  far  less  discreet  and  respect- 
ful than  those  of  the  Swedish  gentleman,  were 
offered,  Fersen  proved,  by  his  absolute  devotion 
and  self-abnegation,  how  worthy  he  was  to  in- 
spire such  a  sentiment. 

Calumny  had  already  been  busy  with  Marie 
Antoinette,  who  was  doubly  exposed  to  its 
malice  by  her  position  as  a  neglected  wife, 
and  by  the  free  and  independent  ways  which 
her  life  at  Trianon  facilitated.  These  attacks 
had  hitherto  been  vague  ;  we  may  therefore  guess 
how  glad  the  enemies  of  the  Queen  were  when 
distinct  indications  and  real  facts  enabled  them 
to  speed  their  darts  with  a  truer  aim. 

Every  day  of  her  life  the  Queen  was  under 
the  scrutiny  of  eyes  sharpened  by  curiosity, 
jealousy,  or  enmity ;  she  could  not  keep  her 
dangerous  secret,  and  her  preference  for  the 
noble  foreigner  soon  became  the  common  topic 
of  her  calumniators. 


THE  MALICE  OF  "  MONSIEUK  "  35 

In  this  state  of  things  the  pregnancy  of  the 
Queen  was  announced,  and  immediately  became 
the  subject  of  malicious  insinuations.  The  cabal, 
led  by  the  Comte  de  Provence,  who  hated  his 
sister-in-law  with  brotherly  hate,  thenceforward 
pursued  its  abominable  task  of  foul-mouthed 
slander  with  increased  energy.  Why  should  it 
have  laid  down  arms  ?  Had  not  the  heir-pre- 
sumptive, the  natural  supporter  of  the  throne, 
bestowed  his  powerful  patronage  upon  calumny 
by  casting  the  most  offensive  accusation  that 
could  be  brought  against  her  upon  the  young 
mother,  in  the  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  itself, 
at  the  baptism  of  her  infant  daughter,  Marie 
Therese  ? 

The  King  of  Spain  was  the  godfather  of  the 
newly -born  princess,  but  the  Comte  de  Provence 
acted  as  his  Majesty's  proxy,  and  presented  her 
at  the  baptismal  font.  The  Grand  Almoner,  who 
officiated,  having  asked  w^hat  name  was  to  be 
given  to  the  child.  Monsieur  answered:  "But 
we  don't  begin  by  that ;  the  first  thing  is  to 
know  w^ho  are  the  father  and  mother."  The 
sardonic  tone  in  which  these  words  were  spoken 
gave  them  emphasis  that  could  not  escape  any- 
body's attention  ;  and  besides,  they  were  let  fall 
on  w^ell-prepared  ground ! 

Fersen  was  far  too  observant  not  to  see  what 
was  passing  around  him,  too  clear-sighted  not  to 
feel  that  his  presence  was  harmful  to  the  Queen. 
Then  did  he  prove  himself  chivalrous  enough  to 
save  her,  and  heroic  enough  to  do  this  at  the 
cost  of  the  hardest  of  sacrifices. 

There  was  only  one  way  in  which  he  could 


36  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

give  the  evil-speakers  the  lie ;  it  was  by  absent- 
ing himself  from  the  Queen,  from  the  Court, 
from  Paris,  Versailles,  France.  And  to  prevent 
his  departure  itself  from  being  malignantly  in- 
terj)reted,  he  would  have  to  find  a  motive  lofty 
enough  to  appear  natural,  and  sufficiently  plau- 
sible to  appear  spontaneous. 

Circumstances  strangely  favoured  his  generous 
plan.  The  struggle  between  Great  Britain  and 
her  colonies  had  just  begun.  France,  already 
feeling  the  impulse  of  her  great  destiny, 
thrilled  at  the  mere  words  "  Independence  "  and 
"  Liberty."  Enthusiasm  was  aroused  among  all 
classes  ;  it  was  of  a  strangely  blind  kind  among 
the  nobility,  while  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people 
was  a  perhaps  unconscious  instinct.  That  aid 
and  succour  should  be  carried  to  the  "brothers" 
in  America  was  the  demand  of  all,  and  as  the 
oppressors  were  the  English,  always  regarded  as 
the  enemies  of  our  nation,  there  was  nothing  to 
check  the  general  impulse. 

Count  John  Axel  Fersen  announced  his  ap- 
proaching departure  for  America,  and  begged 
to  be  enrolled  in  one  of  the  corps  formed  by 
Lafayette  and  Eochambeau.  This  brave  reso- 
lution had  its  dangers  also,  for  it  shed  a  lustre 
round  him  who  was  capable  of  forming  it. 
Marie  Antoinette,  deeply  touched  by  so  great 
a  sacrifice,  was  no  more  able  to  hide  her  sorrow 
than  to  conceal  her  attachment  from  the  persons 
about  her.  While  the  latter  rejoiced  that  they 
were  to  be  rid  of  the  object  of  their  envy,  the 
Queen  could  not  put  such  restraint  upon  her- 
self as  to  look  upon  the  friend  whom  she  was 


A  SECRET  DESPATCH  37 

about  to  lose,  it  might  be  for  ever,  with  com- 
posure, and  her  grief,  sincere  and  deep,  betrayed 
itself  by  her  irrepressible  tears. 

Fersen,  firm  in  his  purpose,  resolutely  ad- 
vanced its  realisation,  and  the  moment  soon 
arrived  when  he  w^as  to  leave  Paris  to  join  the 
corps  to  which  he  was  attached  at  Brest.  He 
could  not  go  away  without  apprising  his  father 
and  his  sovereign :  they  learned  the  fact  from 
himself,  but  it  was  another  who  informed  them 
of  the  true  reason. 

The  fate  of  queens,  whose  greatness  forbids 
them  even  to  weep  in  privacy,  is  sad.  It  is 
through  a  diplomatic  "  act,"  by  an  ambassador's 
letter  preserved  among  the  papers  of  Gustavus 
III.  in  the  archives  at  Upsala,  that  history 
is  now  placed  in  possession  of  the  secrets  of  a 
royal  woman's  heart.  What  does  it  matter? 
They  do  her  no  discredit. 

On  the  loth  of  April  1779,  Count  Creutz 
addressed  the  following  secret  despatch  to  the 
King  of  Sweden  : — • 

"  I  must  confide  to  your  Majesty  that  the 
young  Count  Fersen  has  been  so  well  received 
by  the  Queen,  that  several  persons  have  taken 
umbrage.  I  own  that  I  cannot  help  thinking 
she  has  a  liking  for  him ;  I  have  seen  indica- 
tions of  this  too  certain  to  be  doubted.  The 
young  Count  has  behaved,  under  these  circum- 
stances, with  admirable  modesty  and  reserve, 
and  his  going  to  America  is  especially  to  be 
commended.  By  absenting  himself  he  avoids 
danger  of  all  kinds ;  but  it  evidently  required 
firmness   beyond   his  years   to   resist   such   an 


38  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

attraction.  During  the  last  days  of  his  stay, 
the  Queen  could  not  take  her  eyes  off  him,  and 
as  she  looked  they  were  full  of  tears.  I  entreat 
your  Majesty  to  keep  their  secret  for  yourself 
and  Senator  Fersen.-^ 

"  When  the  approaching  departure  of  the 
Count  was  made  known,  all  the  favourites  were 
delighted. 

"  '  How  is  this,  Monsieur  ? '  said  the  Duchesse 
de  Fitz-James,  '  you  forsahe  your  conquest ! ' 
'  Had  I  made  one,'  he  replied^  '  /  should  not 
forsake  it ;  I  go  away  free,  and  unfortunately 
without  leaving  any  regrets! 

"  Your  Majesty  will  own  that  the  Count's 
answer  was  wise  and  prudent  beyond  his  years. 
The  Queen,  moreover,  behaves  with  much  more 
self-restraint  and  prudence  than  formerly.  The 
King  not  only  entirely  complies  with  her 
wishes,  but  shares  her  tastes  and  her  plea- 
sures.   ^ 

It  was  just  at  this  time  that  a  project  of 
marriage  between  John  Fersen  and  Mdlle.  de 
Leigel,  the  daughter  of  a  Swedish  noble  who 
was  naturalised  in  England,  and  lived  in  Lon- 
don, was  entertained.  The  match  would  have 
been  suitable,  for  the  young  lady  inherited  the 
fortune  of  two  of  her  uncles,  who  were  members 
of  the  East  India  Company. 

Although  John  Fersen  had  corresponded  with 
his  father  on  this  matter,  and  the  latter  had 
approved,  it  would  seem  that  things  did  not 
go  very  far.     Fersen  probably  lent  himself  to 

1  The  father  of  Count  John. 

'^  Gu^tave  III.  et  la  Cour  de  France,  par  M.  Geoflfroy. 


PARTING  39 

the  project,  in  order  to  have  it  believed  that 
he  was  not  averse  to  marriage ;  but  that  he 
was  not  in  earnest  about  it  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  he  went  away  to  America  without 
coming  to  any  conclusion,  and  during  his  ab- 
sence Mdlle.  de  Leigel  married  one  of  her  new- 
made  countrymen. 

This  episode,  which  is  revealed  by  the 
Count's  correspondence,  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  known  in  France  at  the  time.  At 
all  events,  it  occasioned  him  neither  solicitude 
nor  regret. 

For  the  second  time  Fersen  bade  adieu  to 
France ;  but  under  what  conditions  ?  We  ad- 
mire Titus  and  Berenice  for  immolating  their 
love  to  a  policy  which  prohibited  it.  Why 
should  we  not  admire  these  two  who  sacrificed 
a  pure  and  lofty  sentiment  to  one  still  higher, 
and  who  likewise  parted  invictus,  invicta  ? 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Tlie  English  colonies  in  America — The  heavy  yoke  of  England 
— The  first  upheaval — Washington — Enthusiasm  in  France 
— Franklin — Count  John  Fersen  is  attached  to  the  expedition 
as  aide-de-camp  to  M.  de  Rochambeau — He  leaves  Paris— 
From  Brest  to  Newport — Incidents — The  Due  de  Lauzun 
— Interview  between  M.  de  Rochambeau  and  Washington — 
General  Arnold's  treason — The  feeling  among  the  insurgent 
population  —  Spies  —  Williamsburg  —  The  capitulation  of 
Lord  Cornwallis  (19th  October  1781) — Philadelphia — The 
approaching  peace — Count  Fersen  leaves  America — Boston 
— Porto  Cabello — Return  to  France  (June  1783). 

Towards  tlie  middle  of  the  year  1773,  the  town 
of  Boston  became  strangely  disturbed.  The 
East  India  Company,  being  encumbered  with  a 
great  quantity  of  tea,  sent  several  ships  carrying 
cargoes  to  that  port  from  London.  Now,  the 
English  colonies  in  America  had  pledged  them- 
selves to  use  no  more  English  merchandise 
in  consequence  of  certain  disputes  with  the 
metropolis.  At  the  sight  of  the  ships  the  popu- 
lation rose,  and  gave  vent  to  their  indignation ; 
while  fishermen,  disguised  as  Indian  "  braves," 
and  urged  on  by  the  crowd,  boarded  the  vessels, 
seized  upon  the  chests  of  tea,  stove  them  in,  and 
flung  them  with  their  contents  into  the  sea. 

The  English  Government  heard  with  amaze- 
ment of  this  violent  resistance  to  their  will. 
Lord  North  immediately  had  a  bill  passed  closing 

the  port  of  Boston,  and  depriving  the  province 

40 


HOSTILITIES  41 

of  Massachusetts  of  the  right  to  appoint  its  own 
mao-istrates. 

Intimidation  was  of  no  avail.  The  metropolis 
resists  ?  So  be  it.  The  Colony  accepted  conflict 
but  not  chastisement,  proclaimed  itself  in  in- 
surrection, and  appealed  to  the  neighbouring 
States.  The  latter  approved  of  the  conduct  of 
Massachusetts,  and  the  Congress  of  Philadelphia 
(September  1774)  formed  the  union  of  all  against 
the  claims  of  England. 

This  was  the  prelude  to  hostilities.  England 
ought  to  have  been  prepared  for  the  course  of 
events.  Her  American  colonies  were  not  like 
her  other  dependencies,  and  it  w^as  easy  to 
predict  that  they  would  be  by  no  means  dis- 
posed to  accept  the  fate  of  the  unhappy  natives 
of  Hindostan.  These  colonies  had  been  founded 
by  well-to-do  and  well-educated  Puritans,  who 
had  not  left  their  native  land  to  seek  their  for- 
tune, but  in  order  to  enjoy  the  religious  liberty 
w^hich  England  denied  them,  and  they  had  no 
notion  of  enduring  oppression  from  the  mother 
country,  which  to  them  had  never  been  a  mother, 
and  had  now  almost  ceased  to  be  a  country. 

The  result  of  the  Boston  incident  and  the 
Philadelphia  Congress  was  that  the  thirteen 
provinces  formed  a  confederation,  under  the 
grand  name  of  the  United  States.  They  then 
had  the  supreme  good  fortune  to  find  a  man 
who  was  equally  able  as  a  politician  and  capable 
as  a  general,  and  he,  combining  all  its  powers, 
became  the  soul  of  the  revolt.  A  great  soul,  if 
ever  one  existed,  was  George  Washington. 

In  the  meantime,  the  revolted  provinces  sent 


42  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

forth  appeals  to  all  generous  spirits  tlie  whole 
world  over,  while  negotiating  secretly  with  the 
enemies  of  England.  We  know  there  never  was 
a  lack  of  the  latter  ;  so  that  Europe,  while  caring 
but  little  about  the  colonies  in  insurrection,  but 
very  glad  to  injure  Great  Britain,  hastened  to 
lend  her  moral  support  to  the  new  United 
States.  France  placed  herself  in  the  van  of  this 
movement. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  realise  nowadays  the 
enthusiasm  which  our  nation  felt  and  proved  for 
the  cause  of  "  these  Spartan  Protestants  " — more 
Protestant  than  Spartan,  by  the  way.  Not  only 
did  the  populace  espouse  the  cause  of  the  rebels, 
but  the  "  noblesse,"  being  desirous  of  effacing 
the  disgrace  of  the  last  war  and  the  humiliation 
of  the  Treaty  of  1763,  bestirred  themselves,  and 
many  of  them  proclaimed  their  readiness  to  start 
on  this  novel  kind  of  crusade.  Such  being  the 
disposition  of  all  classes,  the  public  mind  was 
puzzled  by  the  undeniably  logical  opposition  of 
Louis  XVI.  and  his  brother-in-law,  Joseph  II., 
who  was  then  in  France.  There  were  persons 
who  were  actually  astonished  at  this,  and  even 
said  so. 

"But,  Madame,  it  is  my  business  to  be  a 
royalist,"  was  Joseph's  reply  to  one  of  these 
persons.  The  sweet  reasonableness  of  this 
humorous  rejoinder,  made  by  a  sovereign,  was 
not  fully  understood.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
Franklin  appeared,  the  general  enthusiasm  knew 
no  bounds.  Everybody  wanted  to  see  him,  to 
speak  to  him,  to  admire  him  at  close  quarters. 
He  produced  a  favourable  impression. 


FRANKLIN'S  STUDIED  PLAINNESS  43 

"  I  was  very  young  when  I  saw  the  illus- 
trious Franklin,"  writes  the  Due  de  L^vis ; 
"  but  the  candour  and  nobility  of  his  face, 
and  his  beautiful  white  hair,  I  shall  never 
forget." 

Anybody  who  discovered  "candour"  in  Frank- 
lin must  indeed  have  been  very  young.  He 
was  an  ardent  patriot,  he  neglected  nothing 
that  could  be  of  utility  to  his  country,  and  he 
contributed  to  the  success  of  its  cause,  but  not 
by  methods  remarkable  for  frankness.  On  the 
contrary,  Franklin  displayed  consummate  skill, 
extreme  acuteness,  and  his  simplicity  was  too 
much  studied  ever  to  be  candid.  He  prepared 
everything,  even  to  the  smallest  details  of 
costume,  or,  so  to  speak,  scenery  and  stage 
management,  with  sedulous  care,  and  if  he 
appeared  amid  the  elegant  and  refined  society 
of  that  period  in  the  plainest  attire  and  with 
unpowdered  hair,  he  did  so  because  he  desired 
everything  about  him  to  attract  attention,  as  a 
means,  he  believed,  of  securing  sympathy. 

The  French  Government,  under  the  pressure 
of  public  opinion,  signed  a  Treaty  of  Commerce 
with  the  United  States,  which  soon  became  a 
Treaty  of  Alliance  (6th  February  1778),  and 
after  this  it  had  no  right  to  oppose  the  de- 
parture of  any  Frenchmen  who  wished  to  go 
to  America  with  the  intention  of  helping  the 
cause  of  independence  by  their  swords. 

Lafayette  had  already  set  out.  A  new  corps 
was  in  process  of  formation  under  the  com- 
mand of  Rochambeau,  and  Count  Fersen  had 
asked  leave  to  join  it. 


44  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  thing  was  not  done  without  difficulty. 
In  fact,  a  considerable  number  of  gentlemen 
solicited  the  favour  of  accompanying  the  corps 
about  to  depart ;  but  what  could  be  done  with 
them  ?  They  were  not  required  as  officers — 
they  were  not  on  the  strength  ;  accordingly,  the 
requests  of  most  of  them  were  refused. 

Fersen  had  better  fortune.  Owing  to  the 
reputation  of  his  father,  who,  as  we  know, 
had  formerly  taken  service  in  France,  and 
also  to  the  support  of  M.  de  Vergennes, 
obstacles  were  smoothed  away  for  him,  and 
better  still,  Kochambeau  consented  to  attach 
him  to  his  personal  staff  as  aide-de-camp,  to 
the  great  joy  of  the  recipient  of  so  marked  a 
favour. 

It  was  no  easy  matter  in  those  days  to 
transport,  not  to  say  an  army,  but  even  a 
troop  of  any  numerical  importance  to  America. 
The  voyage  might  be  long,  the  vessels  being  at 
the  mercy  of  the  winds ;  and  then  there  was 
the  risk  of  meeting  the  English  fleet,  which 
was  cruising  in  the  seas  to  prevent  the  arrival 
of  European  reinforcements.  Kochambeau's 
command  numbered  7000  men  ;  the  force  was 
to  muster  and  embark  at  Brest.  The  depar- 
ture was  fixed  for  the  beginning  of  April,  from 
the  ist  to  the  4th. 

Among  those  who,  like  the  fortunate  young 
Swede,  had  obtained  leave  to  accompany  the 
expedition,  was  the  brilliant  and  almost  famous 
Due  de  Lauzun,  equally  renowned  for  his  love 
adventures  and  distinguished  by  his  birth. 
He  was  of  a  daring  and  versatile  disposition, 


LAUZUN  45 

and  after  liaving  served  with  distinction  in 
America,  he  went  wrong,  but  made  a  good 
end.  It  was  the  strange  destiny  of  this  noble 
Duke  to  become  a  republican  general  and  to 
die  on  the  scaffold. 

At  this  juncture  there  was  no  foreshadowing 
of  such  a  future  for  him,  and  the  war,  in  which 
he  took  part,  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  dis- 
playing all  his  qualities ;  hearty  good-humour 
and  sprightliness  in  the  first  instance,  and 
distinguished  gallantry  so  soon  as  it  was  called 
for. 

He  has  drawn  amusing  sketches  of  some  of 
his  comrades.  A  sketch  of  his  chief  and  the 
officers  of  his  staff  deserves  to  be  reproduced 
at  this  point. 

"  M.  de  Eochambeau,  major  in  command  of 
the  vanguard,  talked  of  nothing  but  war, 
manoeuvred,  and  occupied  positions  in  the  open, 
in  the  room,  on  the  table,  on  your  snuff-box 
if  you  took  it  out  of  your  pocket.  He  is 
exclusively  occupied  with  his  business,  and 
understands  it  thoroughly. 

"M.  de  Caraman,  dressed  to  the  pitch  of 
perfection,  soft-spoken,  fidgety,  stopped  every- 
body in  the  street  whose  coat  w^as  buttoned 
awry,  and  gave  them  little  military  lessons 
with  an  air  of  interest ;  he  was  an  excellent 
officer,  highly  informed  and  active. 

"M.  Wall,  major,  an  old  Irish  officer,  w^as 
very  like  Harlequin,  with  the  addition  of 
humour,  liked  good  eating,  drank  punch  all 
day,  said  that  everybody  was  right,  and  did 
not  meddle  in  anything. 


46  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

"M.  de  Crussol,  major,  had  a  crooked  neck, 
and  not  too  straight  a  mind." 

The  other  generals  were  the  Marquis  de 
Jaucourt  and  the  Marquis  de  Viomesnil,  the 
latter  a  very  indifferent  officer.  The  other 
two  were  more  meritorious,  or  at  least  had  a 
better  reputation. 

The  convoy,  prepared  to  carry  the  troops, 
was  to  be  escorted  by  twelve  vessels  accom- 
panied by  an  adequate  number  of  frigates, 
and  placed  under  the  command  of  M.  Duch- 
affand.  But  the  delays  inevitable  in  such  a 
case  prevented  the  sailing  of  the  convoy  on 
the  appointed  day ;  moreover,  of  the  7683 
men  mustered  for  embarkation,  only  5088 
could  be  taken  on  board  the  ships  in  the  port ; 
2595  had  to  be  left  in  France.  Thus  the 
small  force  under  command  of  M.  de  Eocham- 
beau  was  seriously  reduced  "  by  the  negligence 
and  ineptitude  with  which  everything  is  now 
done  in  this  country,"  adds  Count  Fersen. 

The  convoy  fleet  numbered  only  seven  vessels 
instead  of  twelve.  Rochambeau,  with  his  aide- 
de-camp  of  longest  standing,  sailed  in  the 
Due  de  Bourgogne,  a  great  ship  of  eighty 
guns.  Fersen  embarked  on  the  Jason,  Lauzun 
on  the  Provenee.  The  expedition  carried  a 
great  deal  of  artillery,  a  considerable  siege 
train,  and  victuals  for  eight  months. 

On  the  4th  of  May,  one  month  after  date, 
the  anchors  were  lifted  and  the  fleet  sailed. 
The  voyage  was  tedious.  From  Brest,  the 
convoy  proceeded  to  the  Gulf  of  Gascony, 
where  it  encountered  a  gale,  then  doubled  Cape 


ON  BOARD  47 

Finist^re,  to  the  north-west  of  Spain.  In  sight 
of  the  cape,  Fersen  wrote  the  following  short 
note  to  his  father  : — 

"At  Sea,  i6th  of  May  (Monday)  1780, 
On  board  the  Jason,  in  sight  of  Finistere. 

"  I  have  only  time  to  write  a  few  words, 
to  tell  you  that  I  am  well.  I  have  not  suffered 
from  the  sea.  AVe  have  already  had  rough 
weather,  which  dismasted  one  of  our  vessels. 
The  wind  is  fair,  and  I  think  we  may  reach 
America  in  forty  days.  We  have  just  seen  a 
large  ship  very  far  off ;  we  do  not  know  whether 
it  is  a  friend  or  an  enemy.  I  have  no  time 
to  write  more." 

The  fleet  kept  on  its  course  towards  the 
south  until  the  27°  of  latitude,  then  steered 
to  the  west.  On  the  20th  of  June,  off  the 
Bermudas,  it  sighted  five  English  vessels  and 
a  frigate,  and  they  exchanged  fire  for  two  hours, 
but  at  a  great  distance,  so  that  the  hos- 
tilities were  harmless.  The  night  separated  the 
combatants ;  at  dawn  the  English  ships  had 
disappeared. 

The  French  fleet  was  preparing  to  land  in 
Chesapeake  Bay,  and  on  the  4th  of  July  w^as 
within  fifteen  leagues  of  the  mouth  of  the  bay, 
when  eleven  ships  hove  in  sight,  evidently 
meaning  mischief. 

It  would  have  been  mad  to  risk  a  fight,  and 
almost  certain  destruction  to  the  troops  under 
convoy;  therefore  the  commander  immediately 
ordered  the  ships'  course  to  be  changed,  and 
steered  towards  the  north.  Seven  days  after- 
wards, the   fleet   anchored    in   the   harbour   of 


48  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Rhode  Island,  and  the  landing  was  effected  in 
the  island  of  Newport.  This  was  accomplished 
only  just  in  time.  Shortly  afterwards  twenty 
sail  appeared,  and  the  newly  landed  troops  were 
blockaded. 

The  story  of  the  War  of  Independence  does 
not  come  within  the  scope  of  this  work  ;  its 
purpose  is  only  to  record,  in  its  proper  place, 
the  part  which  Fersen  played,  and  the  im- 
pressions made  upon  him  ;  and  to  this  effect 
his  correspondence  must  be  largely  drawn 
upon. 

The  French  set  to  work  at  once  to  form  a 
camp  at  Newport  and  to  surround  it  with  earth- 
works. Strict  discipline  was  maintained,  and, 
as  always  happens  at  the  beginning,  the  army 
treasure  -  chest  and  the  soldiers'  purses  being 
well  furnished,  the  inhabitants  were  paid  in 
ready  money  for  all  the  provisions  purchased 
from  them.  "  The  discipline  is  admirable,"  re- 
marks Fersen  ;  "it  fairly  astonishes  the  natives, 
who  are  accustomed  to  being  pillaged  by  the 
English  troops  and  their  own." 

Although  the  blockading  fleet  had  gone  away, 
the  French  had  apparently  no  chance  of  an 
immediate  transfer  to  the  mainland,  and  the 
prospect  of  passing  the  winter  at  Newport  was 
not  attractive. 

"You  know  the  French,  my  dear  father," 
writes  Count  John,  "  and  what  are  called  Court- 
people  well  enough  to  imagine  the  dismay 
with  which  our  young  fellows  of  that  class 
contemplate  the  prospect  of  a  quiet  winter  at 
Newport,  far  from  their  mistresses  and  the  plea- 


FERSEN  "COCK-SURE"  49 

sures  of  Paris — no  suppers,  no  plays,  no  balls ! 
They  are  in  despair ;  nothing  short  of  an  order 
to  march  against  the  enemy  can  console  them. 

"This  is  a  charming  country,  with  a  superb 
climate.  We  went  to  the  mainland  a  week 
ago  with  the  General.  I  was  the  only  one  of 
his  aides-de-camp  who  accompanied  him.  We 
stayed  two  days,  and  we  saw  the  fairest  land 
in  the  world,  well  cultivated,  with  beautiful  sites, 
well-to-do  inhabitants,  but  without  lavishness 
or  show ,  they  are  satisfied  with  a  scale  of 
living  which  in  other  countries  is  adopted  by 
a  less  elevated  class ;  their  clothing  is  simple 
but  good,  and  their  morals  and  manners  have 
not  yet  been  spoiled  by  European  luxury.  It 
is  a  country  which  would  be  very  happy  if  it 
might  enjoy  a  long  period  of  peace,  and  if  the 
two  parties  by  which  it  is  now  divided  did 
not  inflict  the  fate  of  Poland  and  that  of 
so  many  other  republics  upon  it.  These  two 
parties  are  called  'Whigs'  and  'Tories.'" 

It  is  evident  that  Fersen  was  led  into  the 
error,  common  to  all  travellers,  of  supposing 
himself  capable  of  forming  a  sound  judgment 
of  a  nation  at  first  sight,  after  he  had  passed 
two  months  in  a  small  island  off  the  coast, 
and  two  days  on  the  mainland.  He  after- 
wards learned  the  wisdom  of  distrusting  his 
first  impressions. 

In  the  meantime  hostilities  had  begun  with 
varying  fortunes.  Fersen  sent  all  news  to  his 
father.  General  Gates  had  been  beaten  by 
Lord  Cornwallis,  and  nothing  was  said  about 
going  to  the  assistance  of  the   defeated  com- 


50  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

mander.  Far  from  this,  indeed,  action  was 
deferred  until  the  arrival  of  the  second  division 
— that  of  the  men  left  at  Brest.  And  so  "  the 
garrison  of  Newport  began  to  be  very  dull  and 
depressed." 

However  dull  the  duty  may  have  been, 
thanks  to  the  industry  characteristic  of  the 
French,  the  garrison  found  means  to  cheat  the 
demon  of  ennui  to  some  extent.  Lauzun  was 
not  of  Fersen's  opinion.  He  made  no  secret 
of  this,  and  when  he  had  to  go  over  to  the 
mainland,  Rochambeau  having  ascertained  that 
the  resources  of  Newport  were  not  sufficient, 
received  his  orders  from  his  chief  with  a  touch 
of  melancholy. 

"  The  want  of  forage  obliged  him  to  send 
me  into  the  wilds  of  Connecticut,  eighty  miles 
away.  .  .  I  did  not  leave  Newport  without 
regret ;  I  had  found  very  agreeable  society 
there." 

He  evidently  included  Count  Fersen,  his 
comrade  in  arms  ;  the  two  were  on  very  intimate 
terms.  Between  these  two  admirers  of  Marie 
Antoinette — admirers  with  the  difference  arising 
as  much  from  their  characters  as  from  their 
nationality  —  there  w^ere  points  in  common. 
The  young  Swede  had  been  attracted  by  the 
sprightliness  and  graceful  manners  of  the 
Duke. 

"  Opinions  are  divided  respecting  him,"  wrote 
Fersen  to  his  father ;  "  you  will  hear  both  good 
and  evil  said  of  him.  Those  who  speak  well  of 
him  are  right,  the  others  are  wrong.  He  has 
formed  a  friendship  with  me,  and  asks  me,  in 


TEDIUM  AND  IDLENESS  51 

the  frankest  way  in  tlie  world,  to  accept  the 
post  of  colonel-commandant  of  his  legion.  .  .  . 
The  Due  de  Lauzun  has  written  on  the  subject 
to  the  Queen,  who  shows  him  great  kindness, 
as  she  does  to  me  also.  I,  too,  am  writing  to 
her  about  this." 

Of  course  he  eagerly  seized  upon  such  a  pre- 
text, which  was  a  welcome  relief  to  him,  but  not 
sufficient  to  dispel  his  ennui.  His  inaction  was 
beginning  to  weigh  upon  him,  and  the  whole  of 
the  little  army  felt  as  he  did.  There  was  too 
much  difference  between  that  which  they  had 
come  to  do,  and  that  which  they  were  doing. 
Fersen's  calm  and  observant  mind  understood 
this,  and  his  reflections  on  the  subject  are  full 
of  good  sense. 

"  Far  from  being  useful  to  the  Americans," 
he  writes,  "we  are  a  burden  to  them.  We  do 
not  reinforce  their  army,  for  we  are  twelve  days' 
march  from  it,  separated  by  arms  of  the  sea 
which  it  is  impossible  to  pass  in  winter,  when 
they  are  encumbered  with  floating  ice.  We  are 
an  expense  to  them,  because,  by  increasing 
consumption,  we  make  provisions  more  scarce, 
and  by  paying  cash  we  depreciate  their  paper 
money,  thereby  depriving  General  Washington's 
army  of  the  facility  of  procuring  victuals,  which 
the  purveyors  refuse  to  give  for  paper. 

"  Our  condition  is  better  than  our  position  ; 
we  brought  with  us  only  two  million  six  hundred 
thousand  livres,  one  half  in  ready  money  and 
the  rest  in  drafts  on  Mr.  Holker,  a  banker  in 
Philadelphia.  We  should  have  brought  double 
that  sum  ;  the  lack  of  specie  in  a  country  where 


52  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUIilEX 

one  wants  money  in  one's  hand  at  every  turn 
obliges  us  to  practise  great  economy,  while 
magnificence  and  profusion  are  required  This 
ruins  our  credit." 

Besides,  idleness  is  an  evil  counsellor.  "The 
generals  are  not  agreed  among  themselves.  The 
whole  army  is  discouraged  by  being  left  so  long 
without  doing  anything"  (i6tli  October  1780). 

The  commander-in-chief  was  aware  that  such 
a  state  of  things  could  not  be  indefinitely 
prolonged  without  danger,  that  it  must  be 
remedied  as  speedily  as  possible ;  but  how  was 
this  to  be  done  without  aid  in  men  and  money 
from  France  ?  It  was  urgently  necessary  that 
he  should  inform  the  Government  at  once  of 
the  bad  condition  of  aff'airs  and  the  necessities 
of  the  moment.  In  order  to  do  this,  Rocham- 
beau  determined  to  detach  a  frigate  from  the 
fleet  and  to  send  a  trustworthy  officer  to 
bear  his  just  demands  to  the  King  and  his 
Ministers. 

Every  officer  of  any  exceptional  importance 
in  the  expeditionary  corps  cherished  a  secret  un- 
spoken hope  that  he  might  be  the  one  selected. 
Long  months  passed  in  idleness,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  a  winter  equally  devoid  of  occupation, 
rendered  such  a  desire  more  than  excusable.  The 
best  of  it  was  that  each  believed  himself  to  be 
the  chosen  emissary.  Fersen  makes  no  conceal- 
ment on  that  point. 

"  Everybody  names  me,"  he  writes  ,  "  several 
of  the  general  officers,  M.  de  Chatelux  and 
Baron  de  Viomesnil,  have  spoken  of  me  as  one 
fitted  to  carry  out  the  intentions  of  the  Gene- 


EOCHAMBEAU  AND  WASHINGTON  53 

ral  in  tliis  matter.  I  do  not  know  what  the 
result  will  be,  but  I  shall  take  no  step  to 
influence  it,  neither  shall  I  refuse  the  proposal 
if  the  General  should  make  it  to  me.  Neverthe-^ 
less,  I  w^ould  rather  not  be  charged  with  this 
task  Something  interesting  might  happen 
during  my  absence,  and  I  should  be  in  despair 
at  having  missed  it." 

Lauzun,  too,  states  in  his  Memoirs  that  his 
name  was  put  forward.  Perhaps  those  two 
were  not  the  only  candidates.  In  any  case, 
they  w^ere  all  disappointed,  and  Eochambeau 
finally  appointed  his  son.  This  was  quite  natu- 
ral, for  whatever  may  have  been  the  confidence 
of  the  commander-in-chief  in  the  other  officers, 
he  was  still  more  sure  of  bis  son,  and  the 
communications  with  which  the  latter  was 
charged  were  of  the  utmost  gravity.  In  fact, 
Eochambeau  had  had  an  interview  wdth  Wash- 
in  o;ton  himself. 

A  meeting  between  the  two  generals  had 
been  arranged  for  the  beginning  of  October  at 
Hartford  in  Connecticut.  The  English  must 
have  been  relying  just  then  upon  the  winter 
to  paralyse  the  movements  of  their  enemies, 
for  they  do  not  appear  to  have  watched  the 
coming  and  going  of  the  leaders  at  all  closely. 
Eochambeau,  accompanied  by  the  Admiral,  the 
commanding  officer  of  engineers,  his  son,  and 
two  aides-de-camp,  had  not  even  an  escort  on 
his  way  from  Newport  to  Hartford,  a  distance 
of  forty  leagues.  Fersen,  who  was  one  of  the 
two  aides-de-camp  selected,  was  sent  in  advance 
to  announce  the  arrival  of  the  French  general, 


54  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

and  thus  he  was  the  first  to  see  Washington, 
the  hero  of  Independence,  who  produced  a  pro- 
found impression  upon  the  Count,  as  upon  all 
who  approached  him.     Fersen  writes  : — 

"His  face,  handsome  and  majestic,  but  at 
the  same  time  kind  and  gentle,  completely 
corresponds  with  his  moral  qualities ;  he  looks 
like  a  hero ;  he  is  very  cold,  and  says  little, 
but  he  is  polite  and  frank.  There  is  a  sadness 
in  his  countenance  which  does  not  misbecome 
him,  and  renders  him  more  interesting." 

Washington  had  consumed  three  days  in 
coming  to  Hartford,  but  as  "he  passed  through 
a  country  filled  with  enemies,"  he  had  taken  an 
escort.  We  cannot  believe  that  these  enemies 
were  very  numerous,  for  the  escort  was  com- 
posed of  only  twenty-two  dragoons,  and  no 
accident  or  unpleasant  encounter  befell  the 
party.  Yet  this  would  have  been  a  good 
opportunity  for  laying  hold  of  the  leaders  of 
the  revolt,  for,  in  addition  to  Washington  and 
Eochambeau,  Lauzun  was  there  ;  but,  as  Lauzun 
remarks  in  reference  to  the  fact,  "  The  English, 
throughout  the  whole  course  of  that  war, 
seemed  to  be  struck  with  blindness ;  they 
always  did  what  ought  not  to  be  done,  and 
failed  to  avail  themselves  of  the  clearest  and 
most  certain  advantages." 

The  three  generals  and  the  Admiral  began 
their  conference.  Lafayette's  presence  was 
doubly  useful,  for  he  acted  as  interpreter. 
General  Washington  did  not  speak  or  under- 
stand French. 

What   passed   during   that   interview  ?     The 


A  TKAITOR  55 

secret  was  well  kept.  All  tliat  can  be  related 
is,  that  the  three  parted  well  pleased  with 
each  other ;  "at  least  they  say  so,"  adds  the 
cautious  Swede. 

That  they  should  be  pleased  with  each  other 
was  very  natural — the  energies  of  all  were 
directed  to  the  success  of  a  common  object ; 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  were  content 
with  the  situation  and  with  events.  At  this 
precise  conjuncture  they  were  informed  of  a 
formidable  danger  to  which  the  cause  of  Inde- 
pendence had  just  been  exposed. 

General  Arnold,  one  of  the  best  officers  in  the 
American  army,  had  turned  traitor,  and  that 
his  treachery  was  baffled  before  it  had  caused 
irreparable  misfortune,  was  due  solely  to  an 
extraordinary  coincidence. 

Arnold,  who  was  brave  to  the  point  of  heroism 
and  bold  to  the  point  of  temerity,  had  distin- 
guished himself  by  deeds  which  had  made  him 
famous.  Being  ordered  in  1775  to  help  Mont- 
gomery to  take  Quebec,  he  set  out  from  Boston 
with  a  thousand  men,  plunged  into  uninhabitable 
country,  and  led  his  small  force  by  an  unknown 
route,  in  spite  of  innumerable  obstacles,  to  the 
front  of  the  city,  arriving  before  Montgomery. 
No  sooner  had  the  latter  joined  him  than  the 
assault  was  attempted.  The  daring  of  their 
chiefs  electrified  the  soldiery.  The  besiegers 
were,  however,  already  weakened ;  a  discharge 
of  grapeshot  killed  Montgomery.  Arnold  rallied 
his  troops,  but  was  struck  down  by  a  ball  which 
broke  his  leg.  He  was  forced  to  retreat,  and 
the  valiant  general,  wounded,  and  exhausted  by 


56  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

fatigue  and  pain,  mustered  the  remnant  of  his 
little  army  and  retired,  beaten  and  glorious. 

After  such  proofs  of  courage  and  patriotism, 
who  could  have  doubted  Arnold  ? 

When  a  general  was  to  be  appointed  to  the 
command  at  Westpoint,  Washington  thought 
he  could  not  do  better  than  to  select  Arnold, 
and  he  gave  him  the  post  with  entire  confi- 
dence. Westpoint,  which  was  one  of  the  most 
important  positions — so  important  that  it  has 
been  called  "  the  Gibraltar  of  America  " — was 
a  fort  built  upon  a  promontory  that  juts  out 
into  the  Hudson,  and  commands  the  course  of 
that  river. 

This  citadel,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  New 
York,  was  the  centre  of  resistance,  and  regarded 
as  impregnable.  The  English  knew  what  an 
advantage  it  would  be  for  them  if  it  should 
fall  into  their  hands,  and  as  they  could  not 
take  it  by  force,  they  tried  stratagem.  They 
have  always  known  how  to  use  with  skill  the 
aptly-named  "  cavalry  of  St.  George,"  and  in- 
deed what  is  this  but  putting  in  practice  the 
time-honoured  axiom  of  Philip  of  Macedon, 
that  "  no  place  is  impregnable  if  a  mule  laden 
with  gold  can  be  made  to  climb  into  it." 

This  must  be  a  truth — true  in  all  ages  and 
in  every  country,  since  a  traitor  was  found  in 
Westpoint,  and  that  traitor  was  Arnold  !  How 
was  it  that  the  commander  of  the  English 
forces,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  was  acquainted 
with  the  great  reputation  of  the  American 
general,  ever  ventured  to  reckon  upon  such 
a   hero's    being    capable    of    such    a    "falling- 


MAJOR  ANDRE  57 

off;"  how  could  he  believe  tlie  thing  to  be, 
if  not  feasible,  at  least  possible  ?  This  would 
appear  incredible  did  we  not  know  what  re- 
spect the  Englishman  professes  for  the  power 
of  gold,  and  what  contempt  for  the  weakness 
of  conscience.  At  all  events,  the  fact  was  that 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  directed  one  of  his  aides- 
de-camp,  Major  Andrd,  a  brave  and  talented 
young  officer — he  was  only  twenty-four — to  place 
himself  in  communication  with  Arnold. 

Major  Andre,  holding  that  no  task  is  un- 
worthy of  a  soldier  provided  it  be  useful  to 
his  country,  set  to  work  at  once  with  such 
success,  that  for  eighteen  months  secret  rela- 
tions had  been  in  existence  between  Clinton 
and  Arnold. 

What  induced  Arnold  to  listen  to  these  pro- 
posals, and  then  to  accept  them  ?  How  did 
this  brave  man,  who  had  so  often  risked  his 
life  for  his  country,  allow  himself  to  grow 
familiar  with  the  idea  of  selling  his  country  ? 
We  can  answer  only  that  herein  lies  a  mystery 
of  the  human  heart,  which  is  more  earthy  than 
the  body  itself,  and  in  which  the  mud  some- 
times comes  to  the  surface,  when  regrets  for 
useless  sacrifices  arise,  and  when  unruly  appe- 
tites for  forbidden  pleasures  are  awakened. 

Arnold's  resolution  must  have  been  very 
strong  if  it  were  never  shaken  for  an  instant 
during  those  eighteen  months.  The  English 
had  found  their  man  :  strange  to  say,  they 
trusted  this  traitor,  and  the  traitor  remained 
true  to  them. 

The  goal  was  near.     On  the  2 1  st  of  September 


58  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Major  Andre  got  into  Westpoint  in  tlie  disguise 
of  a  peasant,  and  made  the  final  arrangements 
with  Arnold.  The  two  accomplices  had  exa- 
mined the  fortifications,  agreed  upon  points  of 
attack,  and  simulated  preparations  for  defence, 
so  that  the  American  general  might  withdraw 
without  giving  rise  to  suspicion.  The  crime 
was  about  to  be  consummated,  when  the  Un- 
foreseen, that  unknown  factor  which  thwarts 
the  best-laid  plans,  brought  the  criminal  com- 
pact to  nought. 

The  coup-de-thedtre  occurred  in  this  wise. 
On  the  conclusion  of  the  Hartford  conference, 
Washington  and  Lafayette  resolved  to  proceed 
to  Westpoint,  and  they  sent  two  aides-de-camp 
in  advance  to  give  General  Arnold  notice  of 
their  coming.  The  aides-de-camp  presented 
themselves,  and  found  Arnold  at  breakfast  with 
his  wife.  They  were  invited  to  partake  of 
the  meal,  and  while  the  little  party  were 
talking,  a  messenger  came  in  suddenly  and 
handed  a  sealed  note,  sent  by  Arnold's  subor- 
dinate. Lieutenant  -  Colonel  Jameson,  to  the 
General.  Arnold  opened  the  paper,  started, 
bent  over  his  wife  and  whispered,  "Farewell 
for  ever."  He  went  out,  proceeded  to  his  own 
room,  collected  a  few  things,  had  a  horse 
saddled,  desired  one  of  his  aides-de-camp  to 
tell  Washington  that  he  was  obliged  to  go 
away,  but  would  return  in  an  hour,  mounted, 
and  rode  off"  at  a  gallop. 

His  wife  had  fainted.  The  two  officers  re- 
mained with  her,  doing  all  they  could  to  restore 
her  to  consciousness,  understanding  nothing  of 


ANDKE  A  PRISONER  59 

what  was  passing,   and  unable   to   assign  any 
cause  for  Mrs.  Arnold's  sudden  swoon. 

On  this  scene  Washington  and  Lafayette 
arrived.  The  mystery  of  the  flight  of  the 
General  and  the  emotion  of  his  wife  was 
speedily  cleared  up. 

What  had  happened  was  this.  On  leaving 
the  fortress,  Major  Andre  had  gone  towards 
the  bank  of  the  Hudson,  where  an  English 
frigate  was  waiting  to  convey  him  away.  But, 
to  his  great  surprise,  the  sloop  which  had 
carried  him  from  the  frigate  to  the  land  was 
not  at  the  appointed  place.  Both  the  frigate 
and  the  sloop  had  been  forced  to  retire  by 
the  Westpoint  guns,  which  were  turned  upon 
them,  and  had  proceeded  two  leagues  lower 
down  the  river.  It  had  been  impossible  to 
inform  Major  Andre  of  this  unavoidable  de- 
parture from  the  plan  of  action.  He  sought 
about,  came  and  went,  all  in  vain,  and  finally 
determined  to  get  to  New  York  by  land.  He 
started  immediately.  The  road  was  by  no 
means  safe  for  him ;  however,  he  happily 
avoided  the  American  posts,  and  might  have 
believed  that  he  was  safe,  when  he  encountered 
some  peasants,  who,  in  spite  of  his  disguise, 
or  perhaps  in  consequence  of  it,  stopped  him, 
and,  notwithstanding  his  protestations,  handed 
him  over  to  three  militiamen  whom  they  met 
on  their  way. 

Major  Andrd  then  showed  them  a  passport 
signed  by  General  Arnold.  The  militiamen, 
either  because  they  doubted  its  authenticity,, 
or    because    they   thought   it   strange    that    a 


6o  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

person  like  liim  should  possess  sucli  a  pass- 
port, took  no  notice  of  it,  but  brought  him 
along.  He  felt  his  danger,  and  strove  to  win 
over  the  three  men  by  promises  and  offers  of 
money ;  but  the  soldiers  were  more  honest  than 
their  chief — they  resisted  temptation  and  con- 
ducted their  prisoner  to  the  nearest  post  at 
North  Castle 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Jameson  was  in  command 
there ;  he  hastened  to  apprize  his  superior  officer 
of  the  arrest  of  a  spy.  But  that  superior  officer 
was  General  Arnold,  and  it  was  to  him  that 
the  letter  which  announced  the  capture  of  Major 
Andr^,  and  consequently  the  discovery  of  his 
own  treason,  was  delivered.  This  marvellous 
stroke  of  chance,  following  close  upon  the  first, 
which  had  ruined  him,  afforded  him  the  means 
of  safety.  Thanks  to  it,  he  was  warned  in 
time  and  could  fly. 

In  the  meantime  the  prisoner  had  been 
searched,  and  proofs  of  his  identity,  of  the 
plot,  and  of  his  agency  in  it  were  brought  to 
light.  Various  papers  were  found  upon  him, 
among  them  "  the  report  of  a  very  interesting 
council  of  war,  the  state  of  the  garrison  and 
the  works,  observations  on  the  means  of  attack 
and  defence,  the  whole  in  the  handwriting  of 
General  Arnold." 

Such  was  the  intelligence  that  awaited  Wash- 
ington and  Lafayette  on  their  arrival  at  West- 
point.  Their  astonishment  may  be  imagined. 
The  commander-in-chief,  however,  quickly  re- 
covered his  composure,  and  without  loss  of  time 
he  reassembled  the  troops  that  had  been  more 


UNAVAILING  INSOLENCE  61 

or  less  scattered  by  Arnold,  and  took  all  the 
necessary  measures  for  tlie  safety  of  a  place 
which  "  the  English  would  respect  less  on  better 
acquaintance." 

Then  he  gave  orders  for  the  arrest  of  the 
chief  culprit,  and  the  pursuit  was  instantly 
begun.  But  Arnold  had  had  a  good  start ;  no 
one  suspected  that  he  was  a  fugitive,  and,  of 
course,  he  had  not  been  stopped  at  any  post. 
The  traitor  had  procured  a  boat  and  reached 
the  En  owlish  frio;ate  Vulture.  The  WTetch,  beinor 
sure  of  escaping  punishment,  took  pleasure  in 
mocking  his  former  chief. 

When  Colonel  Hamilton,  who  had  come 
closest  to  the  fugitive  without  being  able  to 
reach  him,  appeared  near  the  place  where  he 
had  found  refuge,  he  was  met  by  a  parliamen- 
tary who  handed  him  two  letters  for  General 
Washington.  One  of  these  was  from  General 
Arnold,  who  took  a  high  tone  with  his  former 
superior,  and  spoke  of  his  treason  as  a  perfectly 
natural  thing,  without  even  attempting  the 
slightest  justification.  The  other  was  from  the 
English  general,  Robertson,  who  demanded  the 
release  of  Major  Andre  in  a  very  insolent 
style,  that  officer,  he  affirmed,  having  acted 
only  "  by  the  permission  of  General  Arnold." 

Washington  made  answer  to  these  two  letters 
in  a  manner  which  was  at  once  worthy  of 
his  humanity,  and  in  conformity  with  his 
duty. 

Knowing  that  Mrs.  Arnold  was  in  a  state 
of  extreme  anxiety  at  Westpoint,  he  would  not 
have  the  poor  woman,  who  was  innocent  of 
4 


62  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEE:N' 

her  husband's  crime,  punished  more  severely 
than  he.  He  accordingly  despatched  one  of 
his  aides-de-camp  to  inform  her  that  "  he  had 
done  all  in  his  power  to  arrest  Arnold,  but  that 
not  having  succeeded,  it  gave  him  pleasure  to 
inform  her  that  her  husband  was  in  safety." 

As  for  Major  Andrd,  he  could  not  give  him 
up :  he  was  brought  before  a  court-martial. 
The  case  was  simple,  the  sentence  a  foregone 
conclusion.  Nevertheless,  his  judges  did  not 
condemn  the  brilliant  young  officer  to  death 
without  being  touched  by  his  youth,  his  cool- 
ness, and  his  courage. 

Andr^  was  deeply  moved  when  he  saw  the 
gallows  that  had  been  erected  for  his  execu- 
tion. This  was  not  the  death  the  soldier  had 
foreseen.  He  understood,  too  late,  the  dis- 
honourable nature  of  his  action,  although  the 
fault  lay  with  his  chief,  and  betrayed  the 
shame  he  felt.  In  the  words  he  addressed  to 
those  who  witnessed  his  death  he  gave  ex- 
pression to  that  shame.     Those  words  were  : — 

"  You  are  witnesses  that  I  die  like  a  man  of 
honour." 

As  for  Arnold,  his  treason  was  rewarded  by 
his  being  made  brigadier-general  of  the  British 
forces,  and  subsequently  second  in  command 
of  the  army  under  Lord  Cornwallis ;  but  the 
latter  did  not  like  the  presence  of  this  traitor 
at  his  side,  so  he  got  rid  of  him  and  sent  him 
back  to  New  York. 

Arnold's  action  did  not  bring  about  any  de- 
fection among  the  revolted  population.  It  met 
with  unanimous  reprobation. 


A  FINE  REPLY  63 

"  If  I  had  fallen  into  your  hands,  what  would 
you  have  done  with  me?"  said  Arnold  one 
day  to  an  American  who  had  been  captured 
by  the  English.  His  fellow-countryman  an- 
swered— 

"  We  should  have  cut  off  the  leg  that  w^as 
wounded  in  the  service  of  the  country,  and 
hung  the  rest  of  your  body  on  a  gallows." 

He  escaped  the  gallows,  but  not  the  pillory 
of  public  scorn. 

Lafayette  records  in  his  Memoires  that 
"  General  Arnold  was  the  only  American  officer 
who  ever  thought  of  using  his  command  as  a 
means  of  gaining  money."  Such  disinterested- 
ness and  patriotism  are  all  the  more  admirable, 
because  times  of  revolution  are  propitious  to 
nefarious  transactions  of  every  kind,  and  also 
because  American  nationality  was  of  very  recent 
formation. 

Just  at  this  time  the  cause  of  Independence 
had  received  a  serious  check :  General  Gates 
had  been  beaten  by  Lord  Cornwallis  in  South 
Carolina.  His  close  intimacy  with  Arnold  had 
exposed  him  to  suspicion,  which  was  increased 
by  his  defeat,  and  immediately  upon  that  mis- 
fortune he  was  recalled  to  Philadelphia,  and 
the  Congress  appointed  General  Green  to  suc- 
ceed him.  Gates  was  unjustly  suspected,  but 
his  dismissal  did  no  harm  to  the  Americans, 
thanks  to  the  merit  and  the  military  ability  of 
his  successor. 

The  three  States  of  New  York,  Connecticut, 
and  Massachusetts  now  took  a  step  which 
shows   how  deeply  the  necessity  of  an   indis- 


64  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

putable  authority  in  times  of  disturbance  im- 
presses itself  upon  even  the  most  ardent  lovers  of 
liberty  •  they  nominated  Washington  dictator, 
with  the  most  widely  extended  powers.  The 
measure  was  wise,  for  a  firm  and  strong  hand 
was  needed  to  restrain  the  unequal  and  scattered 
elements  of  the  great  resistance,  and  to  unite 
them  solidly  against  the  enemy. 

This  precaution  was  rendered  all  the  more 
necessary  by  the  approach  of  winter,  and 
with  it  the  setting  in  of  a  period  of  inaction, 
so  fatal  to  troops  composed  of  volunteers  and 
soldiers  "  on  the  job,"  so  to  speak. 

Eochambeau's  corps  remained  in  the  same 
position,  still  stationed  at  Newport,  still  iso- 
lated, and  without  any  communication  with 
France. 

"  It  was  ten  months  since  we  left  France," 
writes  Lauzun,  "  and  we  had  received  neither 
news  nor  money."  Fersen,  making  the  same 
statement,  adds  :  "  This  oblivion  on  the  part  of 
the  Minister  or  the  Ministry  is  unpardonable." 

Their  prolonged  solitude  affected  the  spirits  of 
the  entire  force,  and,  with  the  addition  of  the 
annoyance  which  all  felt  at  having  been  brought 
so  far  to  fight,  and  then  having  to  remain 
hidden  behind  ramparts,  "  like  an  oyster  in  its 
shell,"  produced  a  considerable  abatement  of 
enthusiasm  among  even  the  best  disposed. 

Fersen  made  a  second  excursion  with  Eoch- 
ambeau,  but  the  admiration  of  the  earlier  time 
is  absent  from  his  narrative.  "  We  have  seen," 
he  writes,  "  neither  a  fine  country  nor  good 
people ;  they  are,  in  general,  idle  and  grasping. 


A  HAESH  JUDGMENT  65 

How  are  they,  with  these  two  characteristics,  to  be 
made  useful  for  the  war  ? "  (7th  November  1780.) 

A  few  clays  afterwards  he  returns  to  this 
subject  and  dwells  upon  it :  "  The  spirit  of 
patriotism  exists  only  in  the  leaders  and  in 
the  principal  personages  of  the  country,  who 
make  very  great  sacrifices ;  the  others,  forming 
the  majority,  care  for  nothing  but  their  per- 
sonal interest.  Money  is  the  moving  spring  of 
all  their  actions,  they  think  only  of  how  to 
acquire  it ;  every  man  is  for  himself,  none  are 
for  the  common  weal." 

Is  not  this  generalisation  rather  too  severe  ? 
Can  poor  peasants  be  blamed  with  any  justice 
for  selling  the  produce  of  their  industry  in 
order  to  live  ?  However  exacting  patriotism 
may  be,  it  cannot  require  patriots  to  starve. 
Fersen  condemns  them,  with  greater  fairness, 
for  selling  to  "  their  friends  the  French "  at 
too  high  a  price,  especially  as  the  resources  of 
the  French  were  considerably  diminished  after 
their  long  sojourn  at  Newport. 

"The  inhabitants  of  the  coast,  even  the 
soundest  Whigs,  supply  provisions  of  all  kinds 
to  the  English  fleet  in  Gardiner's  Bay,  and 
that  because  they  get  well  paid.  They  fleece 
us  mercilessly  ;  everything  is  exorbitantly  dear  ; 
they  have  treated  us  like  enemies  rather  than 
friends  in  all  the  dealings  we  have  had  with 
them.  Their  cupidity  is  unequalled ;  money  is 
their  god ;  virtue,  honour,  all  that  is  nothing 
to  them  compared  with  coin.  Not  that  one 
may  not  find  estimable  persons  among  them, 
persons  of  noble  and  generous  natures ;    there 


66  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

are  many  such ;  but  I  speak  of  tlie  nation  in 
general.  I  believe  it  is  more  Dutch  than 
English." 

We  hardly  expect  to  find  the  Dutch  brought 
into  this  alFair,  for  that  nation  has  not  the 
monopoly  of  cupidity  any  more  than  others — 
unless,  indeed,  to  be  a  trader  is  to  be  guilty  of 
that  vice. 

Fersen  had  to  complain  of  matters  more  im- 
portant than  these  small  grievances.  First,  it 
is  "a  coolness  between  General  Washington 
and  M.  de  Rochambeau."  The  latter  was  un- 
aware of  the  cause  of  this,  but  he  did  what 
prudence  dictated ;  he  wrote  to  the  American 
general,  and  commissioned  Fersen  to  be  the 
bearer  of  the  letter,  and  to  inquire  into  the 
origin  of  Washington's  dissatisfaction. 

"  You  see,  my  dear  father,"  writes  the  young 
Swede,  "  that  I  have  gone  into  negotiation ; 
this  is  my  first  attempt,  I  shall  endeavour  to 
get  out  of  it  well."  He  did  get  out  of  it 
well,  and  Washington's  displeasure  was  not 
lasting. 

Fersen  does  not  even  allude  again  to  the 
incident,  and  no  after-occurrence  recalled  this 
momentary  misunderstanding,  real  or  supposed. 

Then  it  came  to  Fersen's  own  turn — the  calm 
and  judicious  Fersen  himself — to  be  displeased 
with  his  chief. 

"  I  am  getting  tired  of  being  with  M.  de 
Rochambeau,"  he  writes.  "  He  treats  me  with 
distinction,  it  is  true,  and  I  am  very  sensible 
of  this ;  but  he  is  disagreeably,  and  even  in- 
sultingly, distrustful.     He  has  more  confidence 


BAKON  DE  VIOMESNIL  67 

in  me  than  in  my  comrades,  but  even  that  is 
little  ;  and  he  places  no  greater  trust  in  his 
general  officers,  who  are  very  discontented  on 
this  point,  as  the  superior  officers  of  the  army 
are  likewise." 

A  few  months  later  Fersen  said  of  the  same 
general :  "I  do  not  doubt  that  the  troops  he 
asks  for  will  be  sent  to  M.  de  Kochambeau ;  he 
knows  too  well  how  to  make  use  of  them." 

When  he  went  away,  the  officers  and  soldiers 
were  entirely  agreed  in  the  opposite  sense  : — 

"  M.  de  Eochambeau  left  us  at  Providence : 
the  whole  army  regrets  him,  and  with  reason." 

"  We  have  parted  wdth  M.  de  Eochambeau 
with  pain ;  all  were  glad  to  be  commanded  by 
him.  It  is  to  be  hoped  there  may  be  the 
same  feeling  with  reo;ard  to  Baron  de  Viomes- 
nil.  The  Baron  has  not  the  coolness  of  M.  de 
Eochambeau.  He  was  the  only  man  to  com- 
mand us  out  here,  and  to  maintain  the  perfect 
harmony  that  has  prevailed  between  two  nations 
differing  so  widely  in  manners  and  language,  and 
who,  in  reality,  do  not  like  one  another.  .  .  . 
The  wise,  prudent,  and  simple  bearing  of  M. 
de  Eochambeau  has  done  more  to  gain  the 
friendship  of  America  for  us  than  four  battles 
fought  and  won  could  have  accomplished." 

It  was  well  to  quote  these  contradictory  state- 
ments in  order  to  show,  once  more,  how  little 
reliance  ought  to  be  placed  upon  the  verdicts 
returned  by  subordinates  upon  commanders- 
in-chief.  The  latter  are  more  easily  called  to 
account  for  w^hat  they  do  not,  than  even  for 
what  they  do.     Besides,  is  it  possible  for  them 


68  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

to  make  explanations  to  their  subordinates? 
Obviously  it  is  not ;  how  then  are  the  latter 
to  form  a  just  judgment  of  them  in  their 
ignorance  of  the  necessarily  secret  motives 
which  actuate  them  ?  This  remark  applies 
equally  to  every  age. 

It  was  more  than  a  year  since  the  little 
French  army  had  left  France,  and  the  troops 
were  weary  of  idleness  at  Newport ;  but  the 
day  was  drawing  nigh  when  it  should  cast  off 
its  torpor,  when  the  courage  and  good-will  of 
every  man  in  the  corps  would  be  put  to  the 
test ;  when  every  trifling  quarrel  and  selfish 
complaint  were  to  be  forgotten  in  the  common 
peril  of  conflict ;  when  gunpowder  was  to  speak, 
and  its  roar  was  to  cover  every  other  discordant 
sound. 

A  second  interview  between  Washington  and 
Rochambeau  took  place,  and  again  at  Hartford. 
The  end  of  May  was  near,  a  propitious  moment 
for  the  beginning  of  a  summer  campaign.  It 
was  necessary  to  strike  a  great  blow.  The 
English  were  making  too  good  use  of  time  ; 
on  the  one  hand  they  burned  and  pillaged 
where  they  were  resisted,  on  the  other  they 
lavished  money,  and  by  the  two  means,  terror 
and  bribery,  they  were  gaining  friends  and 
partisans.  Their  progress  in  the  South  was  so 
considerable  that  they  were  credited  with  the 
intention  of  putting  a  stop  to  a  costly  war  by 
recognising  the  independence  of  a  portion  of 
the  North,  so  as  to  secure  a  more  solid  footing 
in  the  Southern  provinces. 

Money,  in  which  lay  the  great  strength  of 


YORKTOWN  BESIEGED  69 

the  English,  was  scarce  with  the  Americans, 
and  especially  with  the  French.  The  latter, 
being  reduced  to  their  last  resources,  were 
obliged  to  practise  a  lamentable  economy. 
They  could  not  even  learn  what  was  going  on 
in  the  enemy's  camp ;  for  they  were  unable  to 
pay  spies.  Those  who  served  the  allied  army 
in  that  capacity  were  poor  men,  who  did  so  from 
motives  of  pure  patriotism.  Their  obscure 
heroism  furnished  Cooper  with  the  theme  of  one 
of  his  most  thrilling  romances,  "  The  Spy,"  and 
Harvey  Birch,  "  the  spy  of  the  neutral  ground," 
is  a  typical  figure.  Volunteer-spies,  however, 
were  becoming  few,  for,  as  Fersen  remarks, 
"  Men  soon  tire  of  an  unpaid  business  which 
leads  to  the  gallows." 

The  decisive  hour  had  come.  The  chiefs  knew 
that  it  was  so,  and  the  troops  were  put  in  motion. 
At  last  the  French  left  Newport  and  effected 
their  junction  with  the  Americans  (12th  June 
to  6th  July  1 781). 

Washington  immediately  made  a  demonstra- 
tion on  New  York  to  deceive  Clinton ;  the 
trick  succeeded  perfectly.  He  then  took  his 
way  to  Philadelphia,  rejoined  Lafayette  at 
Williamsburg,  and  afterwards  proceeded  to  be- 
siege Yorktown,  where  Lord  Cornwallis  was 
shut  up. 

On  the  29th  of  September  the  investment 
was  complete ;  on  the  6th  of  October  the  first 
trench  was  opened.  Two  external  redoubts 
were  attacked  by  two  columns,  one  composed 
of  Americans,  the  other  of  French  ;  rivalry 
made   them  perform   prodigies  of  valour,  and 


70  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

as  they  were  equally  brave,  their  success  was 
equal :  the  two  redoubts  were  carried. 

On  the  1 6th  of  October  all  was  ready  for 
the  assault.  Lord  Cornwallis,  who  had  re- 
sisted so  long  as  he  could,  expecting  the  arrival 
of  Sir  Thomas  Clinton,  who  had  promised  to 
come  to  his  assistance,  but  did  not  appear, 
endeavoured  to  effect  the  escape  of  his  army 
by  the  York  Eiver ;  but  this  daring  and  foolish 
enterprise  was  frustrated  by  a  violent  storm 
which  scattered  all  his  boats.  Eesistance  had 
now  become  impossible,  and  on  the  17th  he 
proposed  a  capitulation.  Only  ten  balls  and 
one  bombshell  remained  in  his  arsenal. 

The  vanquished  army  yielded  up  the  fort 
and  passed  before  the  conqueror.  Cornwallis 
pleaded  illness  to  escape  this  humiliation.  He 
was  represented  by  General  O'Hara,  who  ad- 
vanced towards  Rochambeau  and  presented 
his  sword. 

"  I  am  only  an  auxiliary,"  said  the  French- 
man as  he  refused  to  receiA''e  it,  and  pointed 
out  Washington  as  the  chief  to  whom  the 
Englishman  ^  was  to  surrender. 

This  capitulation  produced  an  immense  effect. 
The  English  had  now  in  their  power  only 
New  York,  Charlestown,  and  Savannah,  and 
their  prestige  was  considerably  lowered.  The 
cause  of  Independence  was  triumphant ;  peace 
rumours  were  already  abroad. 

The   presence   of  the   French  was,  however, 
still  necessary  to  the  consolidation  of  the  suc- 
cess that   had    been    achieved.      Rochambeau's 
^  O'Hara  was  an  Irishman. 


FERSEN  REMAINS  AT  HIS  POST  71 

forces  prepared  for  winter  quarters,  and  head- 
quarters was  established  at  Williamsburg,  "  a 
wretched  little  town,  more  like  a  village." 

Most  of  the  officers  shrank  from  the  doleful 
prospect  of  again  passing  three  long  months 
without  either  fun  or  fighting,  and  several 
asked  for  leave.  "  All  our  young  colonels 
of  the  Court  are  going  away  to  pass  their 
winter  in  Paris.  Some  will  not  come  back, 
others  will,  and  will  be  much  surprised  that 
they  are  not  made  brigadiers  for  having  been 
at  the  siege  of  Yorktown ;  they  think  they 
have  done  the  finest  thing  in  the  world,  I 
shall  remain  ;  I  should  have  no  other  reason 
for  going  to  Paris  than  my  amusement  and 
my  pleasure  :  I  must  sacrifice  these." 

The  Due  de  Lauzun  acted  more  adroitly ; 
he  contrived  to  get  himself  sent  to  France 
as  bearer  of  the  news  of  the  brilliant  success 
of  the  allies.  He  embarked  on  the  Surveillante, 
and,  after  a  voyage  of  eighty-two  days,  he 
arrived  at  Brest,  from  whence  he  proceeded 
to  Versailles.  There  he  passed  the  winter,  and 
did  not  return  to  America  until  the  following 
year.  Fersen,  on  the  contrary,  had  remained, 
like  the  brave  and  noble  soldier  that  he  was  ; 
for  the  courao-e  of  a  soldier  resides  in  the  doing* 
of  his  duty,  whatsoever  that  may  be,  without 
always  claiming  to  be  paid  in  gold  or  in  glory. 

Nor  was  this  time  lost  by  him.  He  turned 
it  to  advantage  in  an  intelligent  and  practical 
manner,  by  making  himself  better  acquainted 
with  the  country,  and  with  the  people  among 
whom    he   was    detained.     He    visited   various 


72  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

parts  of  tlie  new  State,  accompanied  by  the 
Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne,  an  amiable  and  talented 
Frenchman,  and  described  his  excursions  to  his 
father  in  letters  full  of  interest  and  vivacity, 
which  denote  remarkably  sound  judgment  on 
his  part. 

In  the  first  instance  he  relates  his  experiences 
in  Virginia  (2  5tli  March  1782) : — 

"  We  have  had  a  charming  journey,  and 
the  canteen  which  Luzerne  brought  with  him, 
packed  with  pates,  ham,  wine,  and  bread, 
prevented  us  from  noticing  the  poverty  of  the 
inns,  where  there  is  nothing  to  be  had  but 
salted  meat,  and  no  bread. 

"  In  Virginia,  only  Indian-corn  cakes  are 
eaten.  These  cakes  are  heated  in  front  of  the 
fire,  and  though  hardened  on  the  outside,  are 
merely  raw  dough  inside.  The  only  drink  is 
rum,  otherwise  sugar-brandy,  mixed  with  water ; 
this  they  call  *  grog.'  Apples  have  failed  this 
year,  so  that  cider  is  not  to  be  had. 

"  In  the  part  of  Virginia  called  '  The  Moun- 
tains,' all  is  different.  The  soil  is  better ;  the 
great  tobacco-culture  is  carried  on  there ;  the 
land  produces  wheat  and  every  kind  of  fruit ; 
but  in  the  Plain,  in  the  region  of  the  coast, 
only  Indian-corn  is  grown. 

"  The  chief  product  of  Virginia  is  tobacco ; 
not  because  this  province,  the  largest  of  the 
thirteen,  is  not  suited  to  other  kinds  of  cultiva- 
tion, but  because  the  laziness  and  the  vanity  of 
its  inhabitants  form  an  obstacle  to  industry. 

"  In  fact,  the  Virginians  seem  to  belong  to 
another  race ;   instead  of  occupying  themselves 


THE  "RUB"  FORESEEN  73 

with  their  farms  and  with  commerce,  every 
landowner  wants  to  be  a  'grand  seigneur.'  A 
white  man  never  works ;  as  in  the  West  Indian 
Islands,  all  the  labour  is  performed  by  negro 
slaves,  who  are  superintended  by  white  men, 
and  there  is  an  overseer  at  the  head  of  each 
plantation.  There  are  at  least  twenty  negroes 
to  one  white  man  in  Virginia ;  and  this  is  the 
reason  why  the  province  sends  so  few  soldiers 
to  the  army. 

"All  the  traders  here  are  regarded  as  inferior 
to  the  landowners,  who  say  that  the  former 
are  not  '  gentlemen,'  and  will  not  associate 
with  them.  They  hold  aristocratic  principles, 
and,  when  one  sees  them,  one  can  hardly 
understand  how  they  have  come  to  join  the 
general  confederation,  and  accept  a  government 
founded  upon  conditions  of  absolute  equality. 
But  the  same  spirit  which  has  led  them  to 
cast  off  the  English  yoke  might  ivell  urge  them, 
on  to  other  measures,  and  I  should  not  he 
surprised  to  see  Virginia,  when  .peace  comes, 
detach  itself  from  the  other  States.  I  should 
not,  indeed,  be  surprised  to  see  the  American 
government  become  a  complete  aristocracy." 

Is  it  not  curious  that  the  young  officer  should 
already  comment  upon  the  antagonism  be- 
tween the  North  and  South,  which  was  not  to 
break  out  until  eighty  years  afterwards,  and 
should  in  a  measure  foresee  "  the  War  of 
Secession  "  ? 

Fersen  made  an  excursion  to  Portsmouth  with 
Eochambeau  and  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne. 
On  their  return  they  heard  of  the  disastrous 


74  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEX 

defeat  of  M.  de  Grasse,  who  was  captured  with 
the  Ville  de  Paris,  the  Admiral's  ship,  and  six 
other  vessels ;  a  victory  which  gave  the  superi- 
ority in  the  West  Indian  Islands  to  the  English. 
"  This  is  most  vexatious,"  writes  Fersen,  "  espe- 
cially if  we  have  the  misfortune  to  be  kept  here 
(at  Williamsburg).  The  heat  is  already  exces- 
sive ;  just  think  what  it  will  be  in  July  and 
August"  (27th  May  1782). 

No  news  came  from  France.  Lauzun  was 
impatiently  expected,  but  he  did  not  arrive. 
The  situation  again  became  gloomy.  The 
Americans  talked  of  attempting  the  siege  of 
New  York,  but  they  were  too  weak  for  such 
an  enterprise,  and  a  check  would  mean  the  risk 
of  very  serious  results. 

All  of  a  sudden,  just  as  the  forecast  of  events 
was  tending  to  ill,  a  change  of  attitude  on  the 
part  of  the  English  took  place.  Peace  was 
talked  of — peace  was  meant.  The  English,  vic- 
torious on  the  sea  in  America,  had  experienced 
great  reverses  in  India,  and  SufFren  was  threat- 
ening that  other  colonial  empire,  which  it  would 
ruin  them  to  lose. 

The  war  had  cost  them  one  hundred  millions ; 
their  trade  was  encountering  obstacles  all  over 
the  world ;  the  nation  was  weary  of  such  heavy 
sacrifices.     The  Government  gave  way. 

On  the  17th  of  August  1782  Fersen  wrote  to 
his  father :  "  From  the  news  which  we  have 
from  England,  for  as  yet  we  have  none  from 
France,  it  appears  that  peace  is  near.  Eng- 
land is  very  well  disposed,  if  only  France  be 
moderate  in  her  demands. 


EETURN  TO  FRANCE  75 

"  This  idea  causes  universal  joy  ;  it  gives  me 
pleasure  which  I  cannot  express." 

It  was  natural  that  he  should  feel  thus,  even 
apart  from  the  consideration  of  those  whom  he 
hoped  to  rejoin  in  Europe,  for  he  greatly  needed 
rest.  He  had  been  moving  about  incessantly 
for  some  months,  and  "  ill  with  a  heavy  cold." 
Nevertheless  he  had  discharged  all  the  duties  of 
his  service — a  severe  one,  especially  as  the  heat 
was  great,  and  water  was  scarce  in  the  country. 
Now  the  cold  weather  was  setting  in  ;  his  "  tent 
and  mattress"  afforded  him  only  meagre  pro- 
tection, for  he  was  "not  very  well  off  for 
blankets,  but  eked  them  out  with  his  cloak." 

The  hour  of  departure  was  drawing  near.  The 
news  regarding  peace  was  confirmed.  Lauzun 
returned,  and  transports  were  prepared  to  con- 
vey the  French  volunteers  back  to  France. 

The  troops  assembled  at  Providence  to  await 
embarkation.  Count  Fersen  availed  himself  of 
the  opportunity  to  visit  his  friends  in  the  little 
island  of  Newport  and  bid  them  farewell.  This 
duty  being  accomplished,  he  rejoined  his  com- 
rades and  proceeded  with  them  to  Boston, 
where  the  ships  awaited  them.  Fersen  went 
on  board  the  Brave  wdth  the  Comte  de  Deux- 
Ponts  and  the  three  first  companies. 

The  Brave  was  a  ship  of  seventy-four  guns, 
and  would  certainly  not  have  deserved  to  keep 
her  name  had  she  been  responsible  for  the 
shortcomings  of  her  captain,  the  Chevalier 
d'Amblimont,  who  had  already  behaved  very 
ill  in  the  disaster  of  the  1 2th  of  April.  Instead 
of  obeying  the  signals,  he  fled,  and  on  being 


76  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

hailed  by  Bougainville  and  asked  the  reason 
of  such  conduct,  he  replied  that  "as  the  fleet 
was  lost,  at  least  one  ship  should  be  saved 
for  the  King." 

His  foresight  had  apparently  done  him  no 
harm,  as  his  command  had  not  been  taken 
from  him.  x\nd  then  he  really  was  a  charming 
man ;  "  so  amiable,"  says  Fersen,  speaking  of 
him,  "  so  polite.  He  has  a  good  ship.  I  am 
well  berthed  and  well  fed.  This  is  all  I  want. 
I  can  dispense  with  his  courage." 

Contrary  winds  detained  the  fleet  at  Boston 
until  the  end  of  December.  The  orders  of 
the  Government  were  that  the  ships  were  to 
proceed  to  the  Antilles.  "  The  voyage,"  wrote 
Fersen,  "  was  horrible ;  while  on  board,  occupa- 
tion was  impossible ;  being  always  in  the  same 
room  with  forty-five  persons  was  odious.  It  is 
a  horrid  kind  of  life.  The  navy  is  a  wretched 
calling,  especially  in  France." 

All  the  ships  in  the  fleet  were  driven  by  the 
wind  and  dispersed  ;  several  were  lost  with  all  on 
board,  and  one  of  them,  the  Bourgogne,  carried 
400  men.  A  few  put  safely  into  port  at  Curacoa  ; 
the  Brave  took  thirteen  days  to  make  the  thirty- 
five  leagues  which  divide  that  island  from  Porto- 
Cabello,  a  Venezuelan  port  ( 1 3th  February  1783). 

Fersen  had  cause  to  congratulate  himself 
upon  being  on  board  one  of  the  best  ships. 
He  regarded  it  as  "a  miracle"  that  he  had 
"  reached  terra  Jirma  safe  and  sound."  Not 
that  the  place  was  attractive  or  agreeable  by 
any  means ;  there  were  no  resources  of  any 
kind  in  Porto-Cabello.     But,  bad  as  this  haven 


A  FOEBIDDEN  DECORATION"  77 

of  refuge  was,  it  enabled  tlie  fleet  to  collect 
its  scattered  numbers.  Crossing  the  seas  from 
thence,  the  returning  expedition  reached  France 
in  June. 

By  his  three  years'  service  with  the  expedi- 
tion, Count  Fersen  had  gained  the  decoration  of 
the  Order  of  Cincinnatus,  a  glorious  memorial, 
given  by  General  Washington  himself,  but  the 
King  of  Sweden  forbade  him  to  wear  it. 

France  derived  an  analogous  advantaoje  from 
her  intervention.  By  the  Treaty  of  Versailles 
(1783)  she  had  obtained  that  England  should 
recognise  the  independence  of  the  United  States. 
The  latter  gave  her  an  unexpected  proof  of 
their  independence  :  they  had  treated  with  Eng- 
land separately,  and  unknown  to  France,  six 
months  previously. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  letter  from  Gustavus  III.  to  Louis  XVI. — Count  Fersen  at 
the  Court  of  France — Mdlle.  Necker — An  abortive  project 
of  marriage — Stedingk  and  Stael — Gustavus  III.  in  Ger- 
many, in  Italy,  and  in  France — Count  Fersen's  return  to 
Sweden  (1784) — Political  events — Preludes  to  the  Eevolu- 
tion — Queen  Marie  Antoinette — Unpopularity — The  French 
Court— The  Comtesse  Jules  de  Polignac— Baron  de  Besenval 
— The  Due  de  Lauzun — The  Due  de  Coigny — The  diamond 
necklace — The  louis-d'or  of  Strasburg — M.  de  Calonne — 
"  The  King  has  sent  in  his  resignation  " — The  Assembly  of 
the  Notables — Count  Fersen's  impressions — Sweden  in  1788 
— Finland  expedition — Count  Fersen's  mission  in  France — 
Mme.  de  Chicogne — Valenciennes  and  Paris — Revolutionary 
agitation. 

Count  Fersen  returned  to  France — 

" pare  de  cette  gloire 

Que  donne  aux  jeunes  cocurs  la  premiere  victoire." 

The  halo  of  military  gallantry  now  enhanced 
his  personal  merit,  and  it  shone  all  the  more 
brightly  because  his  fame  had  been  gained  in 
a  distant  and  popular  war. 

The  King  of  Sweden  was  proud  of  his  sub- 
ject ;  he  thought  it  a  good  opportunity  to 
obtain  a  position  in  the  French  army  for  him 
similar  to  that  which  he  held  in  the  Swedish. 
Accordingly,  he  wrote  to  the  King  of  France  at 
the  beginning  of  September  1783,  as  follows  : — 

"  Sir,  my  brother  and  cousin, — Count  Fersen, 

having   served   in   the   army  of  your  Majesty 

with  general  approbation,  and  having  thereby 

78 


ROYAL  FAVOUR  79 

rendered  himself  worthy  of  your  good -will, 
I  do  not  think  that  I  commit  an  indiscretion 
in  asking  you  for  a  proprietary  regiment  for 
him.  His  birth,  his  fortune,  the  place  that 
he  occupies  about  my  person,  the  prudence  of 
his  conduct,  the  talents  and  the  example  of 
his  father,  who  formerly  enjoyed  the  same 
favour  in  France,  all  authorise  me  to  believe 
that  his  services  cannot  fail  to  be  agreeable 
to  your  Majesty ;  and  as  he  will  remain  equally 
attached  to  my  service,  and  will  divide  his 
time  between  the  duties  of  his  posts  in  France 
and  in  Sweden,  I  see  with  pleasure  that  the 
confidence  which  I  accord  to  Count  Fersen  and 
the  high  position  which  he  enjoys  in  his  own 
country  will  still  further  extend  the  relations 
that  exist  between  the  two  nations,  and  will 
prove  the  constant  desire  which  I  have  to 
cultivate  more  and  more  the  friendship  which 
unites  me  to  you  and  becomes  each  day  more 
dear  to  me."  ^ 

As  a  proof  that  his  recommendation  was 
the  genuine  expression  of  his  esteem  for  the 
Count,  the  King  made  him  "titular  colonel" 
in  his  army,  a  knight  of  the  Order  of  the 
Sword,  and  lieutenant-colonel  "in  service"  in 
the  King's  Light  Horse.  This  significant  ex- 
ample was  not  necessary.  Fersen's  deserts  and 
the  services  he  had  rendered  were  well  known 
at  the  French  Court ;  he  did  not  want  for 
interest,  especially  in  high  places ;  absence  had 
not  caused  him  to  be  forgotten,  and  on  his 
return  he  was  welcomed  as  a  friend. 

^  Gustave  III.  et  la  Cour  de  France,  par  M.  GeofFroy. 


8o  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

The  Queen  herself  replied  to  the  letter  of  the 
King  of  Sweden,  on  the  19th  of  September  : — 

"  Sir,  my  brother  and  cousin, — I  profit  by  the 
departure  of  Count  Fersen  to  repeat  anew  the 
sentiments  which  attach  me  to  your  Majesty. 
The  recommendation  that  you  have  made  to 
the  King  has  been  received  as  it  ought  to  be, 
coming  from  you,  and  in  favour  of  so  good 
a  subject.  His  father  is  not  forgotten  here ; 
the  services  which  he  rendered  and  his  good 
reputation  have  been  renewed  by  the  son,  who 
has  greatly  distinguished  himself,  in  the  war 
in  America,  by  his  character  and  his  good 
qualities,  and  who  has  gained  the  esteem  and 
afi"ection  of  all  who  have  had  the  opportunity 
of  knowing  him.  I  hope  that  without  delay 
he  will  be  provided  with  a  regiment.  I  shall 
not  fail  to  second  the  views  of  your  Majesty 
in  everything,  and  to  give  you  on  this  occa- 
sion, as  on  every  other,  proofs  of  the  sincere 
attachment  with  which  I  am,  sir,  your  good 
sister  and  cousin." 

Promise  was  quickly  followed  by  perform- 
ance. Fersen,  who  had  been  previously  deco- 
rated with  the  Order  of  Military  Merit,  was 
made  proprietary-colonel  of  the  Eoyal  Suedois, 
a  regiment  then  in  garrison  at  Valenciennes. 

This  post,  these  favours,  the  personal  kind- 
ness of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  to 
Fersen,  were  likely  to  give  a  fresh  start  to 
the  gossip  which  it  had  been  his  purpose  to 
arrest  by  his  departure  for  America.  In  fact, 
his  return  was  an  imprudence  from  one  point 
of  view ;  but  although,  being  master  of  himself 


BACK  AGAIN!  8i 

and  of  his  passion,  he  had  formed  the  most 
generous  and  difficult  of  resolutions  in  a 
moment  of  heroic  courage,  heroism  unhappily 
has  its  limits,  and  perhaps  he  considered  that, 
by  three  years  of  absence,  he  had  purchased  the 
right  to  see  her  whose  image  he  always  bore 
in  his  heart,  the  right  to  be  near  her  and  to 
render  her  devoted  service. 

He  might  have  diverted,  if  not  entirely 
dispelled  suspicion,  if  he  would  have  taken 
advantage  of  his  social  success,  and  made  him- 
self conspicuous  as  the  lover  of  some  fashion- 
able frail  beauty.  Handsome,  renowned,  sought 
and  courted  everywhere,  why  did  he  not 
imitate  his  contemporaries?  What  prevented 
Fersen  from  becoming  a  Richelieu,  a  Lauzun, 
a  Tilly  ?  Nothing,  if  not  himself ;  he  preferred 
to  respect  his  love,  even  as  he  respected  its 
object,  and  to  remain  Fersen. 

Communication  of  the  despatch  of  Count 
Creutz  had  apparently  been  made  to  Fersen's 
father,  Count  Frederick ;  but  either  because 
he  did  not  believe  at  all  in  a  lasting  mutual 
attachment  between  such  young  hearts,  or  be- 
cause he  thought  it  could  not  possibly  sur- 
vive three  years  of  absence,  the  Count  desired 
that  his  son  should  marry,  with  a  view  to 
the  perpetuation  of  their  illustrious  family. 
He  wTote  to  Count  John,  reminding  him  that 
it  was  time  he  should  think  of  marriage  ;  and  as 
Count  John  was  nearly  twenty-eight  years  of  age, 
and  in  a  prosperous  position  in  all  respects,  he 
had  no  good  reason  for  opposing  his  father's  wish 
— no  reason,  at  least,  which  he  would  divulge. 


82  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  consequence  was  that,  as  he  liad  formerly 
done  in  the  instance  of  Mdlle.  de  Leijel,  he 
allowed  several  schemes  of  marriage  to  be  put 
forward  in  a  sketchy  way ;  but  we  may  be 
certain  that  he  did  nothing  towards  their 
realisation,  and  that  he  was  not  altogether 
innocent  of  the  successive  failure  of  every  such 
project. 

At  this  period  an  heiress,  who  was  already 
almost  famous  by  reason  of  her  father's  name, 
fortune,  and  high  position,  and  her  own  re- 
markable intelligence,  but  who  was  not  endowed 
with  beauty,  was  attracting  numerous  suitors. 
Renowned  personages  from  almost  all  countries 
put  themselves  on  the  competitive  list ;  it 
was  a  sort  of  cosmopolitan  tournament.  This 
heiress  was  Mdlle.  Necker. 

Certain  political  personages  are  treated  by 
their  contemporaries  cither  with  unlimited  in- 
dulgence or  with  unmitigated  severity.  In 
the  former  case,  everything  is  admired,  even 
their  faults ;  in  the  latter,  nothing  is  for- 
given, not  even  their  greatest  services.  Many 
politicians  have  owed  much  to,  or  suffered 
severely  from,  these  two  currents  of  opinion. 
M.  Necker  was  just  then  deriving  great  benefit 
from  the  rush — as  blind  as  that  of  a  torrent 
— in  his  direction.  The  extraordinary  public 
favour  that  had  carried  him  into  the  Ministry, 
accompanied  him  while  there,  and  followed  him 
to  his  retreat,  was  as  fervent  as  ever. 

In  reality,  this  public  favour  was  no  more 
justified  in  his  case  than  in  a  hundred  others. 

M.  Necker,  pretentious  and  self-sufiicient  as 


A  STILTED  CAGLIOSTRO  83 

a  parvenu,  austere  and  tiresome  as  a  devout 
Calvinist,  consoled  himself  for  his  fall  by  re- 
ceiving assurances  of  regret  from  numerous 
Frenchmen,  and  tokens  of  admiration  from  a 
few  foreigners.  He  lived  at  Saint-Ouen  with 
his  wife  and  daughter. 

Baroness  Oberkirch,  a  clever  woman,  had  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  the  Necker  family  when 
she  accompanied  the  Russian  Grand-Duke  and 
Grand-Duchess  Paul  (travelling  under  the  name 
of  Comte  and  Comtesse  du  Nord)  to  their  house. 
She  wrote  an  account  of  her  visit  in  which 
the  following  remarks  occur : — "  As  for  me,  I 
did  not  like  M.  Necker.  I  was  struck  by  a 
resemblance  in  him  to  Cagliostro,  without  his 
brilliant  glance  and  bewildering  countenance. 
He  is  a  stilted  Cagliostro,  stiff  and  disagree- 
able, a  regular  bourgeois  of  Geneva.  There  is 
nothino-  amiable  about  him,  al though  he  tries 
to  make  himself  agreeable.  Mme.  Necker  is 
still  worse.  In  spite  of  the  great  positions 
she  has  occupied,  she  is  a  schoolmistress  and 
nothing  more,  pedantic  and  pretentious  beyond 
anything.  She  is  the  daughter  of  a  country 
pastor  of  the  name  of  Churchod ;  she  has 
received  a  good  education,  but  profited  by  it 
contrariwise.  She  is  handsome  and  not  agree- 
able, she  does  good  and  is  not  liked,  her 
body,  her  mind,  and  her  heart  want  grace. 
The  Creator,  before  giving  her  form,  dipped 
her  in  a  tub  full  of  starch.  She  will  never 
possess  the  art  of  pleasing.  In  a  w^ord,  she 
can  neither  weep  nor  laugh.  Her  father  was 
poor,  she  set  up  a  school  for  girls  at  Geneva; 


84  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

she  was  taken  to  Paris  by  Mme.  de  Ver- 
menoux,  well  known  for  her  beauty  and  light 
conduct.  This  Mme.  de  Vermenoux  associated 
with  the  Abbe  Raynal,  M.  de  Marmontel,  and 
other  philosophers,  also  with  M.  Necker.  She 
soon  tired  of  the  latter — I  readily  understand 
that ;  I  should  have  tired  of  him  quite  as  soon 
— and  she  got  rid  of  him  by  marrying  him  to 
Mdlle.  Churchod. 

" '  They  will  bore  themselves  so  thoroughly 
together/  she  said,  '  that  it  will  be  an  occupa- 
tion for  them.' 

"They  did  not  bore  themselves,  but  they 
bored  other  people,  having  taken  to  adoring, 
complimenting,  and  burning  incense  before  each 
other  perpetually,  especially  Mme.  Necker,  who 
is  thurifer  in  permanence  to  her  husband. 

"  The  Grand-Duke  wished  to  have  some 
private  conversation  with  the  great  man.  The 
reputation  of  the  ex-Minister  justified  such  a 
desire. 

" '  I  have  come,'  said  His  Imperial  Highness, 
'  to  add  my  tribute  of  admiration  to  that  of  the 
whole  of  Europe.' 

"  On  leaving  the  great  man,  the  Grand-Duke 
seemed  less  satisfied.  He  asked  us  in  the  coach 
whether  we  knew  the  fable  of  the  sticks  floating 
on  the  water.  This  from  the  Grand-Duke  was 
quite  sufficient  comment. 

"  Mdlle.  Necker  seemed  to  me  a  totally  diffe- 
rent person  from  either  of  her  parents,  although 
she  too  had  a  little  of  the  Genevese  about  her 
and  a  great  deal  of  the  thurifer.  Her  eyes 
are  fine,  but  otherwise  she  is  ugly ;  she  has  a 


STEDIJ^GK  85 

good  figure,  a  clear  skin,  and  something  rarely 
intelligent  in  her  look — it  is  a  flame." 

Many  were  the  wooers  who  fluttered  round 
that  flame ;  the  fine  eyes  of  the  young  lady  did 
not  prevent  them  from  perceiving  "les  beaux 
yeux  de  sa  cassette."  Pitt,  the  famous  English 
Minister,  young  Stael,  and  several  others  with 
them,  tried  their  luck.  The  number  of  suitors 
enabled  Fersen  to  put  himself  on  the  list  with- 
out too  much  danger — that  is  to  say,  without 
any  great  chance  of  success. 

Presently  another  candidate  was  introduced, 
and  by  the  Queen  herself.  Human  hearts  are 
difficult  to  read.  Was  Marie  Antoinette  dis- 
pleased by  Fersen's  seeking  a  tie  which  would 
have  imposed  other  duties  upon  him ;  or  had 
she  no  other  object  than  to  secure  a  good  match 
for  a  gentleman  who  was  worthy  of  it  in  every 
respect  ? 

Stedingk  and  Fersen  were  friends,  and  had 
been  on  intimate  terms  for  years  before  the  war 
in  America.  Stedingk  was  one  of  the  first  to 
go  out  to  the  scene  of  strife,  and  he  returned 
in  advance  of  the  others,  having  received  a 
wound  which  obliged  him  to  use  crutches.  But 
the  wound  being  one  of  those  which  are  cured 
in  time,  this  visible  and  temporary  infirmity 
ofl'ered  an  additional  charm  to  a  tender  heart. 
It  seemed  as  though  Stedingk  must  succeed. 
Nothing  of  the  sort !  The  political  greatness  of 
Pitt,  the  courage  and  the  crutches  of  Stedingk, 
were  eclipsed  by  the  merits  of  the  young  diplo- 
matist ;  marked  preference  was  manifested  for  M. 
de  Stael.      Fersen  waited  no  longer  to  renounce 


86  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

a  project  which  he  had  not  seriously  entertained. 
He  hastened  to  inform  his  father  of  his  renuncia- 
tion in  very  significant  terms. 

"  You  will  have  seen  already  that  the  idea 
which  I  had  concerning  Mdlle.  Necker  could  not 
have  come  to  anything,  even  if  you  would  have 
consented  to  it,  on  account  of  my  friend  Stael, 
whom  this  (marriage)  will  suit  perfectly,  much 
better  than  it  would  suit  me.  /  never  thought 
of  it  except  to  please  you,  my  dear  father,  and 
I  am  not  at  all  sorry  that  it  cannot  he." 

He  had  his  reasons  for  not  regretting  a  failure 
which  indeed  he  ardently  and  secretly  desired. 
Whatever  he  had  to  endure  for  the  sake  of  the 
one  love  of  his  life,  the  future  proved  to  him 
that  he  had  chosen  the  better  part. 

M.  Necker,  who  had  at  first  opposed  his 
daughter's  choice,  yielded  at  length  to  her 
wishes,  and  authorised  a  marriage  that  did  not 
give  him  the  son-in-law  he  had  hoped  for. 
What  was  a  diplomatist,  even  though  he  were 
on  the  eve  of  becoming  Swedish  Ambassador, 
in  comparison  with  the  "  great  Commoner "  ? 
He  would  have  preferred  Mr.  Pitt  infinitely, 
but  the  young  lady  preferred  M.  de  Stael,  and 
her  wishes  prevailed. 

The  marriage,  one  of  inclination  on  the  part  of 
the  wife,  but  of  interest  on  that  of  the  husband, 
did  not  make  either  of  them  happy.  It  was 
conducive  in  the  beginnino;  to  the  establishment 
of  De  Stael's  political  fortunes,  but  it  soon  ceased 
to  be  a  real  union,  by  reason  of  the  quarrels  of 
the  pair,  and  the  scandalous  conduct  of  the  wife. 

Madame  de  Stael  equally  failed  to  find  happi- 


NECKER'S  DAUGHTER  87 

ness  in  illicit  relations.  Her  intellectual  gifts 
did  not  atone  for  the  defects  of  her  person  ; 
she  inspired  esteem,  she  excited  curiosity,  but 
she  did  not  awaken  love.  She  would  not,  how- 
ever, abandon  the  hope  of  doing  this,  and  more 
than  once  she  strove  to  win  the  happiness 
she  dreamed  of;  but  if  she  captivated  the 
imagination,  she  never  won  a  heart,  although 
she  gave  her  own.  As  an  eminent  author,  she 
enjoyed  the  triumphs  of  vanity,  but  what  were 
they  in  comparison  with  the  tribute  which  she 
failed  to  win  ?  That  fine  and  melancholy  saying, 
"  A  woman's  fame  is  only  showy  mourning  worn 
for  happiness,"  is  hers. 

While  M.  de  Stael  was  rising  to  the  high 
position  at  which  his  ambition  aimed.  Count 
Fersen  was  preparing  to  return  to  Sweden 
and  his  home,  after  an  absence  of  more  than 
five  years.  His  departure  was  retarded  by  an 
important  event. 

Gustavus  in.  resolved  to  resume  the  journey 
that  had  been  interrupted  by  the  death  of  his 
father,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  1783  he  was 
travelling  in  Germany.  The  King  desired  to 
see  Count  Fersen,  and  summoned  him.  The 
Count  had  only  to  obey,  and  did  so,  rejoining 
his  sovereign  at  Nuremberg. 

The  royal  scheme  of  travel  fitted  in  admir- 
ably with  Fersen's  secret  inclinations ;  after  an 
excursion  in  Italy  came  a  sojourn  in  France ; 
and  so  he  was  brought  back  to  his  beloved 
Paris,  and  his  more  beloved  Versailles. 

The  King  of  Sweden  adopted  the  name  of 
Count  Haga,  although  he  did  not  travel  incog- 


88  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN  * 

nito.  He  alighted  at  the  Swedish  Embassy,  Kue 
du  Bac,  and  made  his  first  visit  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day  (17th  June  1784)  to  the  King 
of  France  at  Versailles.  He  was  not  expected. 
Louis  XVI.  was  engaged  in  his  favourite  occupa- 
tion, hunting  at  Eambouillet.  He  was  informed 
of  the  arrival  of  the  royal  visitor,  and  returned 
in  haste  to  the  chateau.  That  evening  Count 
Haga  supped  with  the  King  and  Queen. 

Gustavus  HI.  was  more  fortunate  on  the 
second  occasion  of  his  visiting  France.  Marie 
Antoinette,  who  did  not  like  him  at  first,  got 
over  all  her  prejudices  against  him.  Perhaps 
he  owed  this  alteration  in  her  mood  less  to 
his  better  known  and  more  justly  appreciated 
qualities,  than  to  the  favour  with  which  the 
Swedish  nation  was  regarded  in  France,  owing 
to  the  three  gentlemen  whose  names  occur, 
and  are  to  recur  so  frequently,  in  this  narra- 
tive— Fersen,  Stedingk,  and  Stael.  All  three 
deserved  the  general  esteem  in  which  they  were 
held,  although  their  merits  were  of  diff'erent 
kinds.  The  Queen  purposed  to  give  a  fete  in 
honour  of  Gustavus  HI.  ;  it  pleased  her  to 
pay  a  compliment  to  Sweden  in  the  person  of 
the  chief  representative  of  the  nation,  and  she 
would  also  have  an  opportunity  of  showing  off" 
the  embellishments  of  her  favourite  abode.  In 
her  hands,  and  by  her  tasteful  care,  Trianon 
had  become  a  delightful  retreat,  whither,  un- 
happily for  her,  she  was  tempted  to  resort  too 
frequently,  for  the  enjoyment  of  quiet  and 
liberty,  while  she  neglected  the  wearisome  but 
imperative  duties  of  a  Queen. 


THE  QUEEN'S  FllTE  89 

Gustavus  III.  was  astonished.  "  Surrounded 
by  these  young  Swedish  officers,  who  were  in 
such  favour  at  the  French  Court,  he  might 
have  fancied  himself  in  his  own  country.  He 
has  described  this  fete  in  one  of  his  letters. 
Le  Dormeu7'  Eveille,  by  Marmontel  and  Gretry, 
was  acted  with  sumptuous  scenery  and  a  ballet ; 
afterwards  the  company  supped  in  the  groves, 
while  the  English  garden  was  illuminated. 

"  A  large  number  of  persons  were  admitted  to 
the  park  by  invitation ;  all  the  ladies  were  dressed 
in  white.  Gustavus  describes  it  as  '  fairy -land,' 
a  spectacle  worthy  of  the  Champs  Elysees  !  The 
Queen  would  not  sit  at  the  table ;  she  was 
entirely  occupied  in  doing  the  honours. 

"  She' conversed  of  preference  with  the  Swedes, 
and  gave  them  a  marked  welcome.  With  the 
exception  of  the  Princes  (Monsieur  and  the 
Count  d'Artois),  with  whom  the  King  was  dis- 
pleased, the  whole  of  the  royal  family  and  all 
the  Court  were  present.  The  Princesse  de 
Lamballe  was  charming."  ^ 

Up  to  that  time,  it  was  still  possible  to  sup, 
to  dance,  and  to  act  plays.  But  the  calm  and 
tranquillity  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XVI.  were 
passing  away.  It  must  be  said  that  the  royal 
pair  made  the  most  of  those  last  days,  and 
that  their  life  was  a  happy  one.  An  incapable 
Minister,  in  the  guise  of  the  most  supple  and 
insinuating  of  courtiers,  was  gaily  leading  the 
monarchy  to  ruin,  and  France  to  bankruptcy, 
along  a  flower-strewn  path  with  a  precipice  at 
the  end  of  it. 

1  Gustave  III.  et  la  Cour  de  France,  par  M.  GeofFroy. 


90  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Count  Haga  left  Versailles  and  France,  de- 
lighted with  all  he  had  seen,  having  renewed 
at  its  source  his  admiration  for  that  royalty 
which  to  him  was  still  the  royalty  of  Louis 
XIV.,  and  went  back  to  his  own  cold  and 
melancholy  kingdom  to  endeavour  to  imitate 
it  in  a  measure. 

Fersen  returned  to  Sweden  at  the  same  time. 
Royal  favour  had  once  more  been  extended  to 
him  :  Gustavus  III.  had  obtained  a  pension  of 
20,000  livres  payable  by  the  French  treasury 
for  the  Count. 

The  time  was  approaching,  however,  when 
the  accumulated  errors  of  the  preceding  reigns, 
and  the  incapacity  of  the  successive  Ministers 
of  Louis  XVI.,  were  to  bring  the  situation  to 
a  point  at  which  it  would  be  impossible  for  it 
to  remain.  The  nation,  tired  of  paying  dearly 
for  mere  suffering,  wanted  to  have  something 
else  for  its  money ;  and  the  moment  was  not 
distant  when  the  peasant  and  the  working-man, 
aweary  of  their  prolonged  subjection,  were  to 
shake  off  their  apathy. 

The  old  social  edifice,  worm-eaten,  under- 
mined, and  worn-out,  was  cracking  on  all  sides, 
and  the  defenders  who  still  stuck  to  it  were 
not  remarkable  for  either  worth,  courage,  or 
intelligence.  Did  it  deserve  any  other  sort  of 
champions  ? 

Reforms  were  of  imperative  necessity.  To 
perceive  and  acknowledge  all  that  was  just  in 
the  demands  of  the  nation,  a  superior  mind 
would  have  been  required  ;  to  cause  all  that 
was  just  and  good  in  those  demands  to  pass 


THE  QUEEN  NO  POLITICIAN  91 

into  the  laws  of  tlie  country,  a  strong  will 
would  have  been  needed.  And  there  was  no- 
body but  Louis  XVI.  ! 

Marie  Antoinette  was  her  husband's  superior 
in  courage,  and  in  intellectual  and  moral  worth  ; 
but  she  was  not  a  woman  of  political  ability, 
who,  failing  the  King,  would  be  capable  of 
takino-  the  manaofement  of  affairs  into  her  own 
hands.  For  a  long  time  past  the  queens  of 
France  had  been  satisfied  to  be  nobodies  in  the 
state.  What  place  does  either  Marie  Therese  (the 
wife  of  Louis  XIV.)  or  Marie  Leczinska  (the  wife 
of  Louis  XV.)  occupy  in  history  ?  If  Anne  of 
Austria  played  a  more  active  part,  it  was  because 
her  queenship  and  her  womanhood  had  the  same 
animating  motive,  and  in  defending  Mazarin,  her 
Minister,  she  defended  her  lover. 

But  Marie  Antoinette,  had  she  possessed 
the  ability  requisite  to  make  up  for  her  hus- 
band's incapacity,  would  have  found  it  difficult 
to  put  herself  forward.  The  few  attempts  of 
the  kind  which  she  made,  on  the  suggestion 
of  injudicious  friends,  served  only  to  expose 
her  to  a  fierce  attack  from  Mirabeau :  "  There 
is  but  one  Majesty  in  the  kingdom,  and  I  regard 
it  as  disrespectful  to  pronounce  the  word 
'  Queen '  in  a  monarchy  where  queens  can  never 
be  kings.  Our  King,  wdiose  intentions  are 
good,  whose  ill-fortune  is  interesting,  person- 
ally possesses  the  public  confidence,  and  needs 
neither  bail  nor  surety ;  the  place  of  Queen, 
his  august  consort,  is  to  give  him  relaxation 
from  the  cares  of  his  throne,  and  not  to  he 
implicated  in  the  affairs  of  the  State.     When 


92  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

she  was  pleased  to  permit  the  fairest  of  tlie 
arts  to  represent  her,  crowned  with  all  her 
graces,  all  her  rights,  it  was  with  her  chil- 
dren about  her  that  she  was  painted,  not  with 
the  globe  in  her  hand,  or  the  map  of  France 
under  her  eyes." 

The  happy  days  of  Marie  Antoinette  were 
nearing  their  close.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
Queen  had  not  been  very  popular  at  any  time ; 
it  seemed  as  though  an  evil  fate  pursued  her, 
and  superstitious  persons  did  not  fail  to  attri- 
bute this  mischance  to  the  unhappy  hazard  of 
her  birth  upon  a  day  of  mourning  through- 
out the  whole  of  Christendom,  the  2nd  of 
November,  "  the  Day  of  the  Dead,"  a  day  that 
brought  frightful  calamity  upon  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  cities  of  the  world  by  the  earthquake 
of  Lisbon. 

It  would  be  foolish  to  attach  importance  to 
such  notions,  but  the  historian  ought  to  make 
mention  of  them,  not  in  order  to  give  them 
importance  which  they  could  not  possess,  but 
because  they  illustrate  the  state  of  the  times 
and  reveal  certain  tendencies  of  the  public 
mind. 

In  fact,  everything  had  more  or  less  militated 
against  her ;  her  nationality,  her  family,  her 
tastes,  her  beauty,  her  friendships. 

Her  nationality — she  was  Austrian,  Choiseul, 
in  making  her  Queen  of  France,  flattered  him- 
self that  he  was  forming  a  bond  of  union 
between  those  two  hereditary  enemies,  the 
House  of  Austria  and  the  House  of  France : 
his  hopes  were   disappointed,  the  old   distrust 


THE  QUEEN'S  BEOTHERS  93 

still  subsisted,  and  tlie  Queen  passed  for  a  spy 
in  the  interests  of  her  race. 

Her  family — she  had  two  brothers;  one, 
Archbishop  and  Grand-Elector  of  Cologne,  was 
named  Maximilian,  and  he  was  stupid.  On 
his  visit  to  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  Buffon 
offered  him  a  copy  of  his  works,  and  the  prince 
replied : 

"  Many  thanks,  sir ;  I  should  be  very  sorry 
to  deprive  you  of  it." 

The  other  was  Leopold ;  he  was  Emperor  of 
Germany,  and  had  plenty  of  brains.  He,  too, 
visited  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  and  said  to 
Buffon : 

"  I  have  come  for  the  book  my  brother  forgot 
to  take  away." 

By  the  same  sort  of  fatality,  the  stupidity 
of  the  one  brother  and  the  cleverness  of  the 
other  were  equally  ill-taken ;  the  former  was 
ridiculed,  the  latter  was  feared,  and  the  most 
preposterous  ideas  took  possession  of  the  people. 
Even  the  poultry-women  discussed  the  current 
rumours. 

Let  us  pause  and  think  of  just  one  incident, 
that  of  Eenee  Millot.  Having^  met  the  Comte 
de  Coigny  one  day,  the  girl  was  emboldened 
by  his  kindly  familiarity  to  ask  him  gravely  : 

"  Will  the  Emperor  go  on  for  ever  making 
war  against  the  Turks  ?  Why,  if  so,  France 
will  be  ruined  by  the  quantity  of  money  the 
Queen  sends  every  month  to  her  brother ;  it 
must  be  at  least  two  hundred  millions  by  this 
time." 

Coigny   was   amused    by   the   question,    and 


94  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

could  not  resist  the  pleasure  of  amusing  himself 
by  answering  it ;  so  he  said  seriously  : 

"  You  are  quite  right !  yes,  it  has  already  cost 
more  than  two  hundred  millions,  and  we  have 
not  come  to  the  end  of  it  yet ! " 

This  jest,  retained  in  the  silly  brain  of  the 
hearer,  was  repeated  in  the  form  of  a  solemn 
deposition  at  the  trial  of  the  Queen  before  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal. 

Her  tastes  and  her  beauty — she  was  young, 
and  she  was  welcomed  with  f6tes  and  rejoic- 
ing. Was  it  surprising  that  she  resorted  to 
amusement  for  relief  from  the  troubles  which 
came  to  her  through  etiquette,  politics,  and 
her  husband,  "that  big  ill-bred  boy,"  as  Mme. 
du  Barry  called  him?  No  doubt,  she  was 
not  to  blame  for  liking  card-playing,  but  she 
did  wrong  in  abandoning  herself  to  that  pas- 
time with  an  excessive  passion,  especially  by 
playing  very  high,  and  keeping  up  games  at 
lansquenet  for  an  unreasonable  time,  as  she 
did  one  "  All-Saints,"  when  the  party  broke 
up  after  thirty-six  hours  ! 

That  she  should  like  to  drive  out  in  carriages 
and  sledges  was  quite  reasonable,  also  that 
she  should  care  to  attend  the  masked  balls 
at  the  opera ;  but  did  she  not  go  beyond  the 
limits  of  prudence  by  passing  whole  days  in 
driving  about  and  showing  herself  everywhere, 
and  also  by  addressing  strangers  at  the  balls  ? 
Such  were  her  pleasures,  and  she  enjoyed  them 
most  thoroughly  when  they  were  unshared 
by  the  King  —  a  fact  which  did  not  escape 
attention. 


A  FATAL  CHANCE  95 

Rivarol  lias  described  in  one  striking  sentence 
the  impression  which  she  produced  : — 

"  Always  belonging  more  to  her  sex  than 
to  her  rank,  she  forgot  that  she  was  meant  to 
live  and  to  die  upon  a  real  throne ;  she  longed 
too  much  for  the  fictitious  and  fleeting  empire 
that  beauty  confers  upon  ordinary  women,  and 
which  makes  them  the  queens  of  a  moment." 

Her  friendships — the  mere  word  awakens 
most  painful  recollections,  for  certainly  the 
sentiment  which  she  entertained  for  one  of  the 
most  enigmatical  creatures  who  ever  gravitated 
in  the  orbit  of  kings  was  among  the  greatest 
misfortunes  of  her  life.  By  what  chance  Marie 
Antoinette  first  saw  "the  angelic  face"  of 
Madame  de  Polignac,  and  became  infatuated 
with  the  woman  to  the  point  of  summoning 
her  to  Court,  heaping  benefits  upon  her,  her 
husband,  her  lover,  and  her  sister-in-law,  and  ap- 
pointing her  to  the  great  position  of  "  Governess 
of  the  children  of  France,"  is  not  known,  but 
only  too  surely  that  chance  was  fatal. 

Was  the  Queen  even  repaid  by  devotion  equal 
to  her  aff'ection,  and  gratitude  in  proportion  to 
her  bounty  ?  Mme.  de  Polignac  accepted  her 
benefits,  devised  some  fresh  pretext  every  day 
for  securing  others,  while  affecting  to  evade 
them,  and,  when  the  hour  of  peril  came,  when 
the  Queen,  forgetting  herself  to  save  her  friend, 
urged  her  to  fly  from  France,  the  favourite  had 
the  courage  to  obey  her,  and  the  cowardice  to  go.^ 

1  Mme.  de  Polignac  was  true  to  her  base  nature  in  all  vicissi- 
tudes. Mme.  de  Eemusat,  in  lier  celebrated  Memoires,  gives  some 
interesting  details  of  her  falsehood  and  ingratitude  to  the  restored 
royal  family  and  to  the  writer  herself. — Translator's  Note. 


96  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

How  different  are  the  recollections  attached 
to  the  friend  who  loved  more  than  she  was 
loved  ;  and  yet,  how  can  we  regard  her  fide- 
lity otherwise  than  as  a  misfortune,  since  it 
was  one  of  the  Queen's  keenest  sorrows  to  learn 
the  awful  and  tragical  fate  of  the  unfortunate 
Princesse  de  Lamballe ! 

With  regard  to  her  men  friends — Fersen  ex- 
cepted— was  the  Queen  more  fortunate  ? 

Among  those  who  rank  as  her  intimates, 
Baron  de  Besenval  holds  a  prominent  place  ; 
he  contrived  to  acquire  real  influence  and  to 
maintain  it  for  several  years.  The  Due  de 
Levis  has  defined  that  influence  very  clearly  in 
the  portrait  he  has  drawn  of  the  Baron. 

"  He  was  a  Swiss  officer  Avho  had  served  with 
distinction  during  the  Seven  Years'  War.  To 
the  intrepidity  which  has  been  an  invariable 
characteristic  of  his  nation,  he  united  the  fiery 
valour  that  belongs  to  ours.  He  had  a  fine 
figure,  an  agreeable  face,  intelligence,  courage ; 
what  more  was  needed  to  ensure  his  success  ? 
Accordingly,  he  was  very  successful  with  women, 
but  his  manners  were  too  free,  and  his  gal- 
lantry was  in  bad  taste ;  even  among  men  his 
conversation  was  more  remarkable  for  coarse- 
ness than  for  piquancy,  and  his  good-humour 
was  cynical  rather  than  hearty. 

'He  soon  succeeded  in  getting  into  the 
Queen's  own  circle ;  then,  by  mingling  flattery 
with  the  pernicious  maxims  that  he  set  forth 
with  an  air  of  assurance  well  calculated  to 
impose  on  an  inexperienced  princess,  he  ac- 
quired a  baneful  ascendency  over  her ;   this  I, 


A  DAIfGEROUS  COUNSELLOR  97 

and  otlier  persons  who  had  the  means  of  judg- 
ing, regard  as  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  her 
ruin.  The  Queen  had  a  very  good  heart,  but 
also  an  unfortunate  propensity  for  trifling.  He 
applauded  this  defect,  which  might  almost  be 
called  a  vice  in  her  rank.  The  consequence 
was  the  alienation  from  her  of  all  the  really 
estimable  w^omen  at  Court,  whose  experience 
and  good  counsel  would  have  been  so  valuable, 
and  were  so  much  needed. 

"  The  Queen,  at  the  age  of  pleasure  and 
frivolity,  and  in  the  intoxication  of  supreme 
power,  could  not  endure  constraint ;  etiquette 
and  ceremonial  bored  and  irritated  her.  She 
was  told  it  was  ridiculous  that  her  life  should 
not  be  made  as  pleasant  as  that  of  her  chief 
subjects,  who  also  delighted  in  society ;  that, 
in  so  enlightened  an  age,  when  all  prejudices 
were  set  aside,  sovereigns  ought  to  release 
themselves  from  the  fetters  of  custom ;  and, 
finally,  that  it  was  absurd  to  suppose  their 
people's  obedience  depended  upon  the  number 
of  hours  more  or  less  which  the  royal  family 
passed  in  a  circle  of  weary  and  wearisome 
courtiers." 

Mme.  Campan  states  that  the  hot-headed 
Baron  did  not  confine  himself  to  merely  giving 
advice,  but  that  one  day  he  ventured,  notwith- 
standing his  age — he  was  then  over  fifty — to 
make  a  declaration  of  love  to  the  Queen.  There 
was  sometliing  in  this  to  off'end  the  Queen  of 
France,  but  not  to  hurt  the  woman ;  certain 
oflences  of  a  particular  nature  flatter  more  than 
they   anger    those   who   receive   them.      Marie 


98  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Antoinette,  if  we  are  to  accept  Mme.  Campan's 
version  of  the  matter  as  authentic,  did  not 
resent  the  conduct  of  Baron  de  Besenval  for 
any  long  period,  and  he  remained  on  the  same 
terms  of  friendship  and  confidence  with  her. 
If  this  be  true,  it  would  tend  to  prove  that 
the  Queen  was  less  strict  upon  the  point  than 
most  of  her  historians. 

Besenval  had  more  than  one  imitator ;  among 
others,  the  Due  de  Lauzun.  We  have  seen  how 
highly  Fersen  praises  him  in  his  letters  to 
Count  Frederick ;  yet  the  Due  de  Lauzun  did 
not  altogether  deserve  Fersen's  eulogium,  if 
we  are  to  believe  some  of  his  contemporaries, 
beginning  with  the  Due  de  Ldvis. 

"The  Due  de  Biron,  known  in  his  youth  as 
Due  de  Lauzun,  had  entered  society  with  every 
advantage  :  he  was  handsome,  clever,  affable, 
brave,  gallant,  and  his  manners  were  as  noble 
as  his  birth.  He  was  successful  in  every  way ; 
but  unfortunately  judgment  and  good  sense 
were  not  among  his  endowments.  He  began  by 
wanton  extravagance  in  youth,  and  in  middle 
age  grave  faults  and  fatal  errors  led  to  his  ruin. 
According  to  the  general  belief,  his  gallantries 
were  inspired  by  his  excessive  vanity  rather 
than  by  inclination." 

It  is  certain  that  on  his  return  from  America 
he  paraded  "  an  insolent  passion  "  for  the  Queen. 
An  adventure  bearing  on  this  subject,  which 
must  have  been  very  disagreeable  to  him,  is 
recorded. 

"  In  order  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
Queen,  he  had  the  audacity  to  don  her  livery, 


LAUZUN  AND  THE  QUEEN  99 

to  follow  her  about  for  a  whole  day  wherever 
she  went,  and  to  remain  at  night  like  a  watch- 
dog at  the  door  of  her  apartment." 

But  this  manoeuvre  failed ;  the  Queen  did 
not  observe  him. 

"  He  was  about  to  give  up  the  game,  when, 
at  the  moment  of  the  Queen's  alighting  from 
her  coach  on  returning  from  a  drive  to  Trianon, 
it  occurred  to  him  to  kneel  on  one  knee,  so 
that  she  might  put  her  foot  on  the  other  instead 
of  using  the  velvet  carriage-step.  Her  Majesty, 
much  surprised,  looked  at  him  for  the  first  time, 
but,  like  the  quick-witted  and  sensible  woman 
she  was,  she  did  not  appear  to  recognise  him. 
She  called  a  page  : — 

" '  I  beg,  sir,'  she  said,  '  you  will  have  this 
person  dismissed ;  he  does  not  even  know  how 
to  open  a  carriage-door.' " 

It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  if  Lauzun 
displayed  some  vanity,  even  some  insolence,  in 
regard  to  the  Queen,  the  latter  was  not  alto- 
gether free  from  reproach.  With  the  natural 
coquetry  of  a  pretty  woman,  she  allowed  him  on 
several  occasions  to  perceive  that  she  was  not 
insensible  to  his  attentions,  and  he  may  have 
considered  that  his  boldness  was  authorised,  or 
at  least  excused,  by  her  undeniable  affability. 

A  masked-ball  adventure  was  talked  of,  in 
which  "  there  was  levity  on  one  side  and  in- 
discretion on  the  other."  And  there  was  the 
story  of  the  heron's  plume.  One  day  the  Due 
de  Lauzun  presented  himself  at  a  reception  held 
by  Mme.  de  Guemenee,  in  uniform,  "  with  a 
helmet  glittering  with  gems,  and  adorned  with 


loo  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

the  most  superb  heron's  plume  that  could 
possibly  be  seen." 

Marie  Antoinette  complimented  Lauzun  and 
vehemently  admired  the  plume.  Lauzun  im- 
mediately resolved  to  give  her  the  beautiful 
feather,  and  begged  Mme.  de  Guemenee  to 
convey  it  to  her.  The  Queen  might  have  re- 
fused the  gift  of  a  subject,  or,  having  accepted 
it,  left  it  in  the  bottom  of  a  drawer ;  but  she 
did  neither ;  she  appeared  one  day  with  the 
feather  in  her  head-dress,  and  took  care  that 
the  Duke  should  remark  it.  In  this  there 
was  nothing  wrong,  but  it  was  likely  to  be 
misinterpreted,  and  certain  not  to  pass  un- 
perceived. 

The  Queen,  who  had  by  degrees  effectually 
got  rid  of  the  formalities  of  etiquette,  had  no 
notion  of  submitting  to  constraint  with  her 
own  friends.  Before  Fersen's  return  it  was 
not  Lauzun  who  held  the  first  place  among 
that  favoured  few ;  it  was  not  any  of  them 
with  whom  public  rumour  was  busy  :  it  was 
the  Due  de  Coigny. 

Count  Tilly  writes  of  him  at  the  time  of  his 
highest  favour;  he  was  then  forty-five  years 
old:— 

"  Coigny  was  not  a  very  handsome  man,  nor 
was  he  very  talented,  but  he  was  better  than 
either ;  he  had  exquisite  manner,  perfect  bear- 
ing, a  fine  presence,  a  just  and  simple  mind, 
composure  and  politeness,  a  true  heart  which  his 
elevation  had  not  corrupted  or  favour  spoiled. 
Coigny,  who  was  beloved  by  all,  had  no  enmity 
towards  any." 


THE  NECKLACE  lor 

There  is  no  doubt  that  at  one  time  he  had 
great  influence  with  the  Queen.  Lauzun  gives 
a  proof  of  this  in  his  Memoires.  It  was  at 
Choisy.  He  presented  himself  after  an  absence 
to  the  Queen,  who  received  him  graciously, 
manifested  great  pleasure  on  seeing  him  again, 
and  talked  with  him  for  a  considerable  time. 
Afterwards  he  heard  Coigny  say  to  her — she  was 
sitting  near  the  door — "  You  have  not  kept  your 
word ;  you  promised  not  to  talk  much  with  him, 
and  to  treat  him  like  everybody  else." 

Lauzun  knew  this  applied  to  himself,  and  on 
the  Queen's  approaching  a  few  minutes  later, 
with  the  intention  of  speaking  to  him,  he 
said — 

"  Take  care ;  you  will  get  yourself  scolded 
again." 

She  seemed  embarrassed,  but  recovered  her- 
self, and  jested  with  him  about  the  incident. 

Was  it  surprising  that  the  spite  and  jealousy 
of  the  many  found  matter  for  comment  in  the 
favour  shown  to  a  few  by  Marie  Antoinette  ? 
And  yet,  all  this  was  nothing  in  comparison 
with  "  the  affair  of  the  necklace." 

The  story  is  well  known ;  a  brief  recapitula- 
tion of  it  is  all  that  is  necessary  in  this  place. 
Cardinal  de  Rohan  was  desperately  anxious  to 
win  the  favour  of  the  Queen,  who  had  treated 
him  with  marked  coldness,  and  encouraged  by 
a  scheming  adventuress,  Mme.  de  la  Motte,  who 
was  remotely  and  illegitimately  connected  with 
the  Valois  family,  he  imagined  that  a  princely 
present,  the  gift  of  a  necklace  worth  sixteen 
hundred  thousand  livres,  would  soften  the  heart 


102  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

of  Marie  Antoinette.  Mme.  de  la  Motte,  to 
convince  him  of  this,  had  got  up  the  most 
audacious  comedy  that  ever  was  acted  on  any 
stage,  and,  wonderful  to  consider,  her  audacity 
succeeded  fully.  She  had  discovered  among 
women  of  a  certain  class  one  who  was  strikingly 
like  the  Queen.  A  skilful  disguise  completed 
the  deception,  and  she  took  this  woman  one 
evening  into  a  grove  in  the  park  of  Ver- 
sailles. 

The  Cardinal  came  there  by  previous  arrange- 
ment with  Mme.  de  la  Motte,  and  he  really 
believed  that  it  was  Marie  Antoinette  herself 
who  let  a  rose  fall  from  her  hand  at  his  feet, 
and  who  murmured  the  words, — "  The  past  is 
forgotten." 

This  scene  filled  the  prelate  with  hope  and 
joy.  He  bought  the  famous  necklace ;  but  it 
was  easier  for  him  to  intrust  it  to  Mme.  de  la 
Motte  to  be  handed  over  to  the  Queen,  than 
to  pay  the  price  of  it  to  the  Court  jewellers. 
The  latter  demanded  their  money,  and  Marie 
Antoinette  was  involved  in  the  scandal  of  this 
dark  intrigue,  notwithstanding  her  innocence, 
and  indeed  ignorance,  of  the  matter. 

For  the  moment  it  seemed  that  calumny  was 
to  triumph,  and  the  Queen  to  be  overwhelmed 
by  the  persistent  statements  of  the  wretch,  La 
Motte,  who  declared  that  she  acted  solely  by 
her  Majesty's  orders.  The  Cardinal,  as  much 
through  conviction  of  their  truth  as  from  pru- 
dence, confirmed  the  woman's  story,  which  was 
fatal  to  the  Queen. 

Who  was  the  woman,  if  not  she,  who  had 


PEEE  LOTH  103 

spoken  in  the  nocturnal  scene  in  the  park  of 
Versailles  ? 

A  strange  chance  upset  Mme.  de  la  Motte's 
plan  of  defence,  and  happily  disproved  her  state- 
ments. 

The  trial  had  already  begun,  when  one  day 
a  friar-minor,  Pere  Loth,  sought  an  interview 
with  the  Procureur-General,  and  asked  permis- 
sion to  make  a  full  avowal,  no  matter  w^iat 
disgrace  it  must  involve  to  himself.  Truth,  and 
the  duty  and  fidelity  he  owed  to  the  King  and 
Queen,  constrained  him  to  take  this  course.  He 
was  received  and  heard,  and  his  statement  was 
as  follows  : — Being  desirous  to  preach  before 
the  Court,  he  had  pondered  how  to  secure  the 
permission  of  the  Grand  Almoner  of  France, 
Cardinal  de  Rohan ;  but  as  he  was  unknown  to 
His  Eminence,  he  could  not  think  of  any  means 
of  approaching  him  ;  then  he  heard  of  Mme. 
de  la  Motte  and  the  great  interest  she  possessed. 
Access  was  more  easy  on  this  side ;  he  hastened 
to  make  acquaintance  with  her,  and  was  soon 
on  familiar  terms.  Thus  it  happened  that  he 
had  seen  and  heard  many  things  which  he  did 
not  understand  at  first,  but  that  might  have 
some  bearing  upon  the  case  under  investigation. 
In  particular  he  had  one  evening  seen  the 
*'  demoiselle  d'Oliva "  (a  name  conferred  for  the 
nonce  on  the  woman  d'Essigny)  dressed,  or 
rather  disguised,  by  Mme.  de  la  Motte,  and 
had  been  so  struck  by  her  likeness  to  the  Queen 
that  he  had  remarked  upon  it.  He  knew  that 
Oliva  had  been  taken  to  Versailles  the  same 
evening. 


I04  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

He  also  named  a  certain  Retaux  de  Villette 
as  the  accomplice  of  Mme.  de  la  Motte  in  the 
affair.  This  person  had  taken  flight,  but  Pere 
Loth  put  the  magistrates  on  his  track,  and  he 
was  arrested  in  Switzerland.  Oliva  was  also 
brought  out  of  her  hiding-place,  and  the  two 
detected  persons  acknowledged  their  respec- 
tive parts  in  the  scheme.  Oliva  had  personated 
the  Queen  at  Versailles,  and  Retaux  had  forged 
the  notes  which  the  Queen  was  supposed  to 
have  addressed  to  Cardinal  de  Rohan.  Although 
these  notes  were  signed  "  Marie  Antoinette  de 
France,"  the  Cardinal,  who  certainly  ought  to 
have  had  his  suspicions  aroused  by  so  absurd 
a  signature,  never  doubted  their  authenticity. 

The  depositions  of  Pere  Loth,  Retaux,  and 
Oliva  changed  the  aspect  of  things ;  the  trial 
took  place,  and  the  truth  was  brought  to  light. 
But  the  sentence  acquitting  the  Cardinal  on 
the  ground  of  "  good  faith "  and  condemning 
Madame  de  la  Motte,  did  not  kill  the  scandal 
or  hinder  its  results.  So  hostile,  it  must  be 
admitted,  was  public  opinion  to  the  Queen,  that 
it  caught  at  any  opportunity  of  a  demonstration 
against  that  unfortunate  woman.  No  one  among 
the  masses  would  admit  her  innocence,  although 
it  was  real,  and  her  culpability  became  a  fixed 
article  of  popular  belief. 

For  several  years  past  calumny  against  her 
had  taken  various  forms  ;  that  of  pamphlets  and 
newspapers,  or  gazettes,  as  they  were  then  called, 
in  particular.  Some  time  after  the  affair  of  the 
necklace,  a  great  number  of  louis-d'or  on  which 
the  King's  head  was  represented  with  a  horn 


"MADAME  DEFICIT"  105 

very  skilfully  and  visibly  stuck  up  in  the  hair, 
were  put  in  circulation.  These  coins,  which 
were  called  "  Strasburg  louis,"  because  they  were 
struck  in  that  town,  excited  the  strongest  indig- 
nation at  Versailles,  all  the  more  because  the 
Comte  de  Provence  was  believed  to  be  the 
author  of  this  dastardly  manoeuvre. 

The  thing  was  not  at  all  impossible,  and 
seemed  very  like  his  ordinary  conduct.  Nay, 
so  mean  an  infamy  was  not  even  unlikely  on  the 
part  of  the  King's  younger  brother.  He  had 
not  forgiven  his  sister-in-law  for  becoming  a 
mother,  and  he  had  actually  cast  a  doubt,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  baptism  of  Marie  Therese 
(Madame  Eoyale),  upon  the  parentage  of  the 
children  who  were  to  bar  him  from,  the  throne. 
He  vehemently  denied  the  allegation,  and  per- 
haps he  was  not  guilty.  In  this  single  instance 
it  is  possible  that  he  was  wrongfully  accused  of 
a  crime  against  his  own  kin. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  he  who  gave  to 
his  brother's  wife,  to  the  Queen  of  France,  the 
nickname  of  Madame  Deficit.  This  terrible  nick- 
name spread  rapidly,  and  was  eagerly  adopted 
by  the  populace,  who  hated  her,  so  that  in 
the  affair  of  the  deficit,  as  in  so  many  other 
matters,  she  bore  the  responsibility  of  acts  in 
which  she  had  taken  only  the  very  slightest 
part. 

No  doubt,  the  Queen  had  incurred  great 
expense  in  the  embellishment  of  the  Petit- 
Trianon  ;  no  doubt  she  had  been  unwise  in 
her  generosity  in  several  cases,  heaping  money 
and   lucrative    posts    upon    her    creatures,    the 


To6  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Polignacs  and  others  ;  but  tlie  deficit,  whicli  liad 
long  existed  in  the  finances  of  the  kingdom,  and 
had  survived  the  first  Necker  Ministry,  was  in 
no  wise  of  her  making.  To  clear  her  from  that 
accusation  it  needs  only  to  mention  the  name 
of  Calonne. 

M.  de  Calonne  was  chosen  for  the  post  of 
Comptroller-General  in  1783,  for  one  of  those 
strong  reasons  which  Figaro  put  so  neatly — 

"  II  f allait  un  calculateur." 

We  know  the  rest.  Calonne  himself  was  quite 
frank  on  the  point. 

"  The  finances  of  France  are  in  a  deplorable 
condition,"  he  said  to  M.  de  Machault ;  "  you 
may  be  sure  that  I  should  never  have  taken 
charge  of  them  but  for  the  bad  state  of  my  own." 
M.  de  Machault,  in  recording  this  speech,  adds, 
with  his  usual  gravity  andjlnesse — "  And  yet  I 
had  done  nothing  to  merit  so  extraordinary  a 
confidence." 

At  his  first  interview  with  the  new  Comptroller- 
General,  Louis  XVI.  received  a  similar  avowal. 

"  Sire,"  said  Calonne,  "  I  have  just  debts  to  the 
amount  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
livres.  A  Comptroller-General  might  readily 
find  means  to  pay  that  sum,  but  I  prefer  to 
confess  the  whole  truth  to  your  Majesty,  and 
to  owe  everything  to  your  goodness." 

The  King,  taken  by  surprise,  had  nothing  to 
say,  and  all  he  could  do  was  to  take  out  of  his 
cash-box  shares  in  the  Compagnie  des  Eaux  to 
the  value  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
livres,  and  hand  them  to  Calonne. 


KING  AND  MINISTER  107 

This  incident  supplies  the  measure  of  the 
audacity  of  the  one  man,  and  the  stupid  good- 
nature of  the  other.  We  can  judge  what  that 
administration  was  bound  to  be.  Calonne,  who 
had  the  generosity  of  a  ruined  man,  and  the 
prodigality  of  a  Minister  who  desires  to  secure 
partisans,  held  by  the  axiom  that  one  can  only 
get  money  if  one  is  rich,  and  that  one  can  only 
pass  for  being  rich  by  a  lavish  expenditure. 
The  worst  of  it  was  that  this  axiom  verified 
itself  practically,  at  least  for  a  certain  time. 
Calonne  passed  for  a  great  Minister,  a  model 
Comptroller-General. 

"  When  I  see  everybody  holding  out  their 
hands,"  said  a  certain  prince,  who  suited  the 
action  to  the  word,  "  I  hold  out  my  hat." 

Louis  XVI.  continued  to  admire  his  Minister. 
It  would  have  been  interesting  for  an  observer 
to  have  been  present  at  the  interviews  between 
the  two,  when  we  think  that  in  one  single  year 
Calonne  made  cash  payments  to  the  amount  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty-six  millions,  twenty-one 
millions  being  paid  on  orders  to  bearer,  while 
the  King,  true  to  habits  of  petty  economy,  con- 
tinued to  note  his  expenses,  without  omitting 
the  smallest  item,  just  as,  when  he  was  Dauphin, 
he  put  down  in  the  account-books  which  still 
exist — 

"  At  Epinay,  for  a  basin,  six  sous  ; 

*'  For  six  sheets  of  paper,  four  sous  ; 

"  For  some  cotton,  six  sous  ; 

"  At  Epinay,  for  expense,  four  sous  three  deniers.  ...  * 

^  An  obsolete  coin,  the  twelfth  part  of  a  sou. 


io8  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  wonder  was  that  the  bringing  forth  of  coin 
out  of  empty  coffers  lasted  for  three  whole 
years.  But  the  hour  came  at  last  when  the 
model  Comptroller  had  to  acknowledge  the  state 
of  the  Treasury  (as  it  was  still  called  by  force  of 
habit)  to  the  King.  His  usual  adroitness  did 
not  fail  him  on  this  occasion  ;  while  admitting 
the  deficit,  he  took  care  to  put  forward  a  plan 
for  supplying  it,  and  restoring  order  to  the 
finances  of  the  kingdom. 

"  But  it  is  Necker  that  you  are  giving  me, 
nothing  but  Necker  ! "  exclaimed  the  poor  King, 
who  was  equally  embarrassed  and  distressed  by 
the  position  of  afiairs. 

"  Sire,  in  the  actual  state  of  things,"  replied 
Calonne  with  imperturbable  coolness,  "  nobody 
can  off"er  you  anything  better." 

There  was  but  one  thing  for  Louis  to  do  : 
to  dismiss  the  incapable  Minister  who  had  de- 
ceived and  led  him  to  the  brink  of  the  precipice. 
He  did  not  do  this  ;  he  had  been  blind  for  three 
years,  he  now  allowed  himself  to  be  blinded 
afresh  by  the  promises  of  Calonne,  and  consented 
to  inaugurate  the  execution  of  his  plan  by  con- 
voking an  Assembly  of  the  Notables. 

This  had  an  ill  sound  in  the  ears  of  the  nobles. 
What !  royalty,  which  was  absolute,  to  have 
recourse  to  the  advice  of  any  Assembly  whatso- 
ever !  What  was  happening  ?  The  efi"ect  was 
deplorable,  as  d'Allonville  testifies. 

"  I  supped  with  Count  Berchini,"  he  says, 
"towards  the  end  of  December  1786.  The 
Vicomte  de  Segur  arrived  from  Versailles,  and 
was  immediately  surrounded  and  asked  for  news. 


A  SENSATION  109 

He  put  on  an  air  of  mystery,  and  said  in  a  half- 
whisper — 

"  '  The  news  is  very  great  and  very  important ; 
you  will  hardly  believe  it.' 

"  '  What  is  it,  then  ? ' 

"  '  The  Kdng  has  just  sent  in  his  resignation.' 
Everybody  laughed,  and  wanted  to  know  the 
meaning  of  this  joke. 

"  '  It  is  not  a  joke,'  said  S^gur,  and  then  told 
them  of  the  decree  of  the  Council  convoking  an 
Assembly  of  the  Notables." 

The  people  w^ere  too  wise  to  rejoice.  What 
could  "  Notables," — that  is  to  say,  persons  privi- 
leged by  birth  or  by  fortune — do  to  meet  so 
enormous  a  deficit  ?  They  could  make  sacrifices. 
The  small  fry  knew  that  it  would  be  proposed 
to  the  Notables  to  do  this,  but  that  they  them- 
selves would  have  to  pay  in  the  end. 

Calonne's  new  plans  excited  ridicule  instead 
of  inspiring  confidence.  Here  is  a  specimen  of 
the  criticism  they  received,  in  the  form  of  a 
theatrical  announcement : — 

"Notice  is  hereby  given,  that  the  Comptroller- General  has 
formed  a  new  Company  of  Actors,  whose  first  performance  will 
take  place  before  the  Court  on  Monday,  ihe  29th  of  this  month  ; 
the  chief  piece  will  be  Les  Fausses  Confidences,  to  be  followed 
by  Le  Consentement  Forc^ ;  after  which  an  allegorical  ballet- 
pantomime,  composed  by  M.  de  Calonne,  entitled  Le  Tonneau 
des  Bana'ides,  will  be  given." 

This  arrow  hit  the  blot ;  the  programme  w^as 
carried  out  from  point  to  point.  But  although 
the  Notables  were  unable  to  find  any  remedy 
for  the  state  of  affairs,  their  meeting  was  so 
far  useful  that  it  revived  the  remembrance  of 
the  States-General  in  the  minds  of  the  people. 

6 


no  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Certain  tilings  which  made  an  impression  were 
said  during  the  sittings,  especially  the  follow- 
ing weighty  sentence  : — 

"  The  States-General  only  have  power  to 
decree  the  land-tax,  such  as  is  proposed." 

Count  Fersen,  whose  double  service  obliged 
him  to  divide  his  time  between  Sweden  and 
France,  had  returned  about  this  time,  and  was 
then  at  Versailles,  He  was  present  at  the  last 
sitting  of  the  Assembly  of  Notables,  and  he 
writes  on  the  25th  of  May  1787 — "I  am  very 
glad  to  have  witnessed  this  ceremony  ;  it  is 
very  imposing,  and  probably  will  not  take  place 
again  in  our  time. 

"  The  results  of  the  Assembly  of  Notables  are 
great  reforms  in  the  households  of  the  princes ; 
but  the  most  of  these  apply  only  to  old  customs, 
whose  pompous  ostentation  escaped  notice,  and 
which  served  no  purpose  except  that  of  absorb- 
ing an  enormous  sum  of  money.  The  Comte 
d'Artois  has  already  returned  400,000  livres  to 
the  King  out  of  the  allowance  for  his  household. 
The  reduction  in  the  Queen's  stables  amounts  to 
100,000  crowns;  in  short,  it  seems  that  a  firm 
resolution  to  correct  abuses  so  far  as  possible  has 
been  taken. 

"  The  King  has  already  reformed  his  hunting 
establishment — the  wild-boar  and  wolf-hounds, 
the  hawks,  all  that  is  called  le  vol,  and  the  salary 
of  the  Grand  Falconer  are  to  be  suppressed,  it  is 
said.  There  are  other  reductions  that  I  do  not 
remember.  A  diminution  by  two-fifths  of  all 
pensions  above  10,000  livres  is  much  talked  of, 
but  this  is  not  certain." 


FROM  BAD  TO  WOKSE  iii 

No,  that  was  not  certain,  any  more  than  other 
reforms,  demanded  not  so  much  by  the  Notables 
as  by  necessity,  were  certain. 

In  a  few  cases  only  reductions  were  carried 
out,  to  the  displeasure  of  all  those  who  feared 
that  their  own  turn  for  revision  might  come. 
Baron  de  Besenval  promptly  made  himself  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  malcontents. 

"  It  is  really  dreadful,"  said  he  to  the  Queen, 
who  could  do  nothing  at  all  in  the  matter,  "  to 
live  in  a  country  where  one  is  not  sure  of  having 
to-morrow  what  is  one's  own  to-day.  Formerly 
it  was  only  in  Turkey  that  such  a  thing  could 
happen." 

That  a  man  who  was  not  devoid  of  intelli- 
gence and  good  sense  should  utter  such  words, 
is  an  indication  of  an  intellectual  condition 
in  revolt  against  the  lessons  which  events  were 
already  indicating.  When  we  recognise  this  we 
are  less  surprised  that  Louis  XVI.,  being  forced 
to  dismiss  Calonne,  because  it  was  impossible 
to  hold  out  any  longer  against  the  attacks 
made  upon  him,  should  have  replaced  him 
by  M.  Lomenie  de  Brienne,  Archbishop  of 
Toulouse,  an  ambitious  prelate,  who  hid  his 
insignificance  under  his  dignity,  just  as  he 
concealed  a  skin  disease  beneath  his  purple  robe. 
Everything  went  from  bad  to  worse. 

While  these  events,  big  with  consequences  and 
danger  for  the  future,  were  occurring  in  France, 
things  were  becoming  complicated  in  the  North. 
His  sojourn  in  France  had  completely  intoxi- 
cated Gustavus  III.,  who  no  longer  thought  of 
anything   but   grandeur   of    every   description, 


112  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

palaces,  theatres,  singers,  and  actors.  In  order 
to  realise  his  visions  he  had  taken  to  spending 
money  which  he  did  not  possess,  and,  being 
obliged  to  face  the  problem  of  ever-growing 
debts,  he  resorted  to  deplorable  measures.  He 
displeased  the  clergy  by  selling  benefices,  the 
nobility  by  curtailing  some  of  their  privileges, 
the  middle  classes  by  rescinding  a  portion  of 
their  liberties,  and  the  people  by  raising  the 
price  of  brandy. 

The  manifestation  of  opposition  to  his  Gov- 
ernment was  too  strong  for  the  Kjng  to  disregard 
it ;  he  had  to  endeavour  either  to  disarm  or 
to  satisfy  the  general  feeling.  Yielding  to  his 
adventurous  nature,  he  endeavoured  to  get  rid 
of  his  difficulties  by  engaging  in  a  war  with 
Eussia.  The  least  of  the  defects  of  this  war 
was  its  uselessness,  and  so  convinced  of  the 
fact  were  his  troops,  both  the  chiefs  and  the 
soldiers,  that  they  refused  to  obey  his  orders. 
Gustavus  was  obliged  to  fly  from  his  mutinous 
army,  and  hastily  returned  to  his  kingdom, 
where  his  position  was  seriously  compromised, 
when  an  invasion  by  the  Danes,  who  threatened 
Gothenburg,  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  recover- 
ing his  prestige  and  his  authority. 

Without  loss  of  time  he  mustered  six  thousand 
of  his  faithful  Dalecarlians,  marched  upon  the 
Danes,  and  forced  them  to  retreat.  The  inter- 
vention of  Prussia  and  England  did  the  rest, 
and  Gustavus  III.,  more  lucky  than  wise,  got 
happily  out  of  the  scrape  which  he  had  created 
for  himself.  Count  Fersen,  who  shortly  before 
had  been  made  captain-lieutenant  of  the  body- 


M.  DE  STAEL  113 

guard,  followed  him  in  this  double  campaign, 
but  the  services  he  rendered  the  King  were 
insignificant  in  comparison  with  those  expected 
of  him. 

The  position  of  Gustavus  III.  respecting  the 
Court  of  France  was  very  difficult.  The  chi- 
valrous and  arbitrary  King  of  Sweden  did  not 
favour  the  new  ideas  which  were  dawning  on 
Europe  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  he  considered  the  maintenance  of  the  cause 
of  the  monarchs  always  and  everywhere  one  of 
his  most  imperative  duties.  Now,  it  was  easy 
to  perceive,  from  symptoms  only  too  signifi- 
cant, that  the  throne  of  Louis  XVI.  was  already 
tottering ;  and  Gustavus,  who  was  more  than 
ever  desirous  of  obtaining  exact  information 
upon  the  state  of  things  in  Paris,  felt  that  it 
was  essential  to  have  a  man  placed  there  on 
whose  fidelity,  zeal,  and  discretion  he  might 
absolutely  reckon. 

He  might  have  employed  his  own  ambassador, 
M.  de  Stael,  for  this  purpose ;  but  M.  de  Stael, 
the  first  victim  of  his  new  family  relations,  had 
been  won  over  to  liberal  if  not  revolutionary 
ideas ;  he  leant  towards  the  parties  who  were 
hostile  to  the  royal  family.  To  remove  the 
ambassador  was  out  of  the  question.  On  the 
occasion  of  his  marriage,  M.  de  Stael  had 
obtained  a  promise  from  the  King  that  his 
ambassadorship  should  last  for  six  years  at 
least,  and  that,  in  case  unforeseen  circumstances 
should  lead  to  his  being  deprived  of  it,  he 
was  to  receive  an  equivalent  place,  or  an  annual 
pension  of   20,000  livres.     This  was   certainly 


114  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

paying  very  dearly  for  the  honour  of  having 
Mdlle.  Necker's  husband  for  his  ambassador, 
but  Gustavus  had  committed  the  imprudence, 
and  he  had  only  indirect  means  of  repairing 
its  unpleasant  or  harmful  results. 

He  therefore  directed  Baron  Taube  to  form 
a  sort  of  secret  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  for 
things  appertaining  to  France,  and  he  consti- 
tuted Count  John  Fersen  his  secret  representa- 
tive at  Paris,  a  sort  of  ambassador  in  partihus. 

This  organisation  began  its  work  in  1788,  and 
the  two  Swedes  did  their  best  to  annihilate  the 
influence  of  Mme.  de  Chicogne  (their  nickname 
for  Mme.  de  Stael).  The  curious  situation  led 
to  a  double  and  necessarily  contradictory  corre- 
spondence, and  the  King  and  Queen  of  France 
were  apprised  of  this,  so  that  the  documents 
might  not  become  a  source  of  endless  confusion. 

"  The  King  commands  me  also  to  inform 
you,"  wrote  Baron  Taube  to  Count  Fersen, 
"  that  all  the  despatches  to  Stael  are  written  in 
the  sense  of  the  Kevolution ;  he  means  to  feign 
that  he  pays  attention  to  what  he  (Stael)  says, 
but  this  is  only  to  ascertain  their  real  projects 
and  their  views.  The  King  commands  you  to 
inform  the  King  and  Queen,  so  that  they  may 
make  no  mistakes.  You  will  assure  them  that 
the  King  will  never  vary  in  his  sentiments  and 
in  his  attachment  to  them,  and  this  he  will 
endeavour  to  prove  to  them  under  all  circum- 
stances." 

Gustavus  III.  could  not  have  chosen  a  more 
safe  ambassador,  or  one  more  agreeable  to 
those  to  whom  he  was  accredited.     Louis  was 


A  SECEET  AMBASSADOR  115 

charmed  to  see  the  Swedish  gentleman,  who 
was  famous  for  his  military  exploits,  and  faith- 
ful to  the  old  ideas  and  the  old  races.  As  for 
Marie  Antoinette,  the  hour  of  danger  had  come  ; 
many  wavering  friendships  had  forced  her  to 
see  that  the  powerful  err  by  ceasing  to  be  or  to 
appear  powerful,  and  she  could  not  fail  to  rejoice 
in  knowinsc  that  a  man  was  near  her  whose 
heart  she  possessed,  and  who — so  different  from 
many  others — would  be  all  the  more  devoted 
with  her  increasing  need  of  his  devotion,  as  the 
moment  for  putting  it  to  the  proof  approached. 

The  presence  of  Count  Fersen  was  naturally 
explained  by  the  functions  which  he  had  accepted. 
Was  he  not  colonel  of  the  Royal  Suddois  ?  His 
regiment  was  in  garrison  at  Maubeuge,  Valen- 
ciennes, and  neighbouring  towns ;  he  visited  these 
from  time  to  time,  returning  frequently  to  Paris, 
according  to  custom  at  that  period. 

Paris  was  not  so  far  from  Versailles  but  that  he 
also  found  his  way  to  Trianon.  Those  were  happy 
days  for  him,  passed  in  that  sweet  and  already 
old  companionship ;  and  Marie  Antoinette  also 
was  happy  in  the  society  of  her  faithful  friend. 

It  was  during  one  of  his  visits  to  Trianon 
that  she  gave  him  her  portrait,  a  miniature  by 
Roquet,  and  a  pocket-book,  with  the  following 
lines  written  on  the  first  leaf : — 

"  Qu'ecrirez-vous  sur  ces  tablettes  ? 
Quels  secrets  leur  confierez-vous  ? 
Ah  !  sans  doute  elles  furent  faites 
Pour  les  souvenirs  les  plus  doux  ! 
En  attendant  qu'a  cet  usage 
Le  souvenir  soit  employe, 
Qu'il  soit  permis  a  Fanute 
D'en  remplir  la  premiere  page." 


ii6  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  q\JEEN 

Although  Lafont  d'Aussonne  remarks  that 
"  French  poetry  had  a  thousand  charms  for  the 
heart  of  Marie  Antoinette,  and  she  cultivated  it 
with  success,"  the  question  whether  these  lines 
are  really  the  Queen's  has  not  been  settled.  But 
what  does  it  matter?  By  the  care  with  which  she 
wrote  them  out  herself,  she  made  them  hers,  and 
the  evidence  of  her  affection  was  equally  precious 
to  him  who  was  honoured  by  it. 

Count  Fersen  passed  in  France  the  year  that 
preceded  the  outbreak  of  the  greatest  events 
which  have  yet  taken  place  in  the  internal  his- 
tory of  a  nation.  His  intellect,  thoughtful  and 
sagacious  as  it  was  in  the  ordinary  course  of  life, 
was  not  sufficiently  lofty  to  forecast,  however 
imperfectly,  the  great  work  that  was  about  to 
be  accomplished  ;  but  the  agitation  of  men's 
minds  did  not  escape  him,  and  it  made  him 
fear  another,  and  far  more  dangerous,  kind  of 
agitation — that  of  appetites  let  loose,  and  an 
era  of  violence  opening  upon  France. 

"  All  men's  minds  are  in  a  ferment;  nothing  is 
talked  of  but  a  '  constitution  ; '  the  women  especi- 
ally are  joining  in  the  hubbub,  and  you  know  as 
well  as  I  what  influence  they  have  in  this  country. 
It  is  a  mania,  everybody  is  an  administrator  and 
can  talk  only  of  progress  ;  the  lackeys  in  the  ante- 
chambers are  occupied  in  reading  the  pamphlets 
that  come  out,  ten  or  twelve  in  a  day,  and  I  do  not 
know  how  the  printing-presses  can  do  the  work." 
(Paris,  loth  December  1788.) 

The  secret  ambassador  of  Gustavus  III.  found 
it  difficult  to  understand  how  the  French  people 
could  take  so  much  pleasure  in  reading  "  those 


THE  MISEEY  OF  THE  PEOPLE  117 

pamphlets."  He  was  imbued  with  all  the  ideas 
of  the  past,  with  all  the  prejudices  of  the  old 
social  order  ;  he  was  one  of  the  privileged  caste  ; 
he  did  not  see  what  the  philosophers  of  the  age 
had  accomplished ;  the  destruction  of  the  old 
society,  hunted  down  by  the  wit  of  Voltaire, 
and  the  reconstruction  of  a  new  society  elabo- 
rated by  the  genius  of  Eousseau. 

He  felt  nothing  of  what  the  people  felt. 
But  the  people — like  the  blind  who  are  conscious 
of  obstacles  which  they  do  not  see,  who  scent 
danger  and  find  the  right  way  by  a  marvellous 
instinct — the  people  felt  that  something  great 
was  in  preparation  for  them. 

A  man  of  genius  might  have  given  it  to  them  ; 
an  intelligent  prince  might  have  helped  them  to 
take  it ;  the  weak  and  narrow-minded  descen- 
dant of  the  Bourbons  tried  to  snatch  it  from 
them ;  and  so  he  let  loose  the  storm. 

And  no  matter  what  has  been  or  may  be  said, 
the  people  were  the  chief  victims  of  that  awful 
time.  Everything  seemed  to  combine  to  exas- 
perate them.  In  the  months  prior  to  the  assem- 
bling of  the  States-General,  the  already  serious 
distress  was  increased,  and  a  winter  of  unex- 
ampled severity  added  to  its  gravity.  The 
cold  was  so  intense  that  infants  were  frozen  in 
their  cradles,  the  rivers  were  frozen,  the  roads 
w^ere  frozen  :  how  was  wheat  sufficient  for  the 
food  of  millions  to  be  provided  ?  Dearth  set  in, 
and  famine  was  impending. 

Those  dark  days  were  but  forerunners  of  darker 
days  to  come. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Tlie  5th  of  May  at  the  door  of  the  Menus-Plaisirs— The  States- 
General — The  taking  of  the  Bastille — Count  Fersen's  im- 
pressions —  October  days  —  The  mob  at  Versailles  —  The 
Queen  in  danger — The  Royal  Family  returns  to  Paris — 
The  Journal  of  Louis  XVI.  —  Count  Fersen  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle — Baron  Taube — The  Fete  of  the  Federation — 
Political  news  —  Incidents  of  the  i8th  of  April  1791  — 
Preparations  for  departure — Uneasiness  among  the  people 
— Vigilance  of  Citizens  Busebi  and  Hucher — The  21st  of 
June — M.  Lemoine  enters  the  King's  bedchamber — It  is 
empty — Disappearance  of  the  Royal  Family — Commotion 
in  Paris — Au  boeuf  couronn^, 

"  What  more  is  wanted  ? "  replies  Figaro  in  La 
Folle  Journee,  when  Count  Almaviva  bids  liim 
arrange  the  salon  for  the  public  audience  : 
"  The  big  arm-chair  for  you,  a  stool  for  the 
clerk,  good  chairs  for  the  plain  honest  people, 
two  benches  for  the  lawyers,  the  floor  for  the  fine 
folk,  and  the  riff'-raff  at  the  back.  The  floor- 
polishers  {frotteurs)  may  go  now."  Figaro's 
sally  raised  a  laugh,  but  that  it  had  not  cor- 
rected anybody  became  only  too  evident  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Revolution. 

On  the  5th  of  May  1789,  a  considerable 
crowd-  assembled  before  a  small  side-door  of 
the  great  hall  known  as  the  Salle  des  Menus- 
Plaisirs  at  Versailles.  Those  who  composed 
this  crowd  were  dressed  in  a  sort  of  uniform, 
or  rather  in  a  sort  of  livery,  for  their  costume 

was   extremely   simple, — black    coat,    breeches, 

118 


THE  FIFTH  OF  MAY  17S9  119 

and  stockings,  a  short  cloak  of  some  woollen 
stuff,  a  cambric  collar,  and  a  three-cornered 
hat,  such  as  the  inferior  clergy  wore.  They 
talked  in  groups,  some  coolly,  others  with  ani- 
mation ;  all  were  grave  and  stern.  At  length 
the  door  was  opened,  and  through  that  modest 
portal  they  slowly  passed  into  an  immense  hall, 
magnificently  decorated,  and  lighted  from  the 
roof — which  was  supported  on  pillars — by  three 
skylights,  a  very  large  one  in  the  centre,  and  two 
smaller  ones  at  either  end.  White  silk  blinds 
placed  before  these  apertures  rendered  the  light 
soft  and  pleasant.  Behind  the  pillars  were 
graduated  rows  of  benches  filled  with  spectators. 

In  the  centre  of  the  hall,  within  a  space 
twenty  feet  long  and  fifty  feet  wide,  arrange- 
ments had  been  made  on  a  plan  exactly  corre- 
sponding with  that  of  Figaro. 

At  the  far  end  was  the  throne,  under  a  rich 
gold-fringed  canopy,  beside  it  an  arm-chair  for 
the  Queen,  court -stools  (tabourets)  for  the  prin- 
cesses, and  folding-seats  (pliants)  for  the  princes ; 
on  the  right  were  the  seats  reserved  for  the 
clergy ;  on  the  left  those  for  the  representatives 
of  the  nobility. 

In  the  lower  part  of  the  hall  were  rows  of 
forms ;  these  were  intended  for  the  deputies  of 
the  Third  Estate. 

The  men  dressed  in  black  who  had  entered  by 
the  small  side-door  were  the  six  hundred  deputies 
of  that  order,  and  they  had  been  purposely 
snubbed  beforehand  by  being  obliged  to  don  a 
costume  symbolical  of  their  so-called  inferior  posi- 
tion, according  to  an  old  and  ridiculous  usage. 


120  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Thus  did  the  people  make  their  entry  into  the 
Assembly  of  the  States  -  General.  Relegated 
to  the  lower  end  of  the  hall,  they  confronted 
from  thence  the  heir  of  all  their  kings,  the 
successors  of  those  who,  by  their  virtues  and 
their  learning,  had  made  the  Church  of  France, 
and  the  descendants  of  the  warriors  and  states- 
men who  had  served  king  and  country. 

The  spectacle  they  contemplated  was  very 
different  from  that  which  they  presented ;  the 
bishops  were  arrayed  in  purple  robes  with  lace 
rochets,  the  curds  in  large  cloaks  and  square 
caps,  the  nobles  wore  cloth  of  gold  and  silken 
mantles,  Henri  IV.  hats,  and  had  swords  by 
their  side. 

What  effect  could  the  sombre  array  of  the 
Third  Estate  produce  in  the  presence  of  all  this 
brilliancy  and  magnificence  of  costume  ?  It 
must  surely  be  eclipsed  by  such  a  show.  This 
was  not  so,  however.  Already,  in  the  procession 
through  the  streets  of  Versailles  the  day  before, 
it  was  the  men  in  black  to  whom  the  sympathy 
and  the  acclamations  of  the  crowd  were  given ; 
and  again  the  people  were  for  the  men  in 
black,  with  whom  the  hopes  '  of  all  those  who 
toil,  pay,  and  suffer,  had  entered  through  that 
small  side-door.  Only  a  few  years  were  to  pass 
before  the  men  on  whom  it  was  intended  to 
play  a  good  trick  by  forcing  them  to  wear  the 
garb  of  mutes,  would  justify  that  expedient  by 
"  conducting  "  the  funeral  of  the  monarchy,  the 
clergy,  and  the  nobility. 

Count  Fersen,  still  in  France,  divided  his 
time  between  Paris  and  Valenciennes.     He  had 


A  TIME  OF  UNREST  121 

been  afFected  by  the  course  of  events  to  tbe 
extent  of  having  his  pension  of  20,000  livres 
reduced  to  13,000,  in  consequence  of  the  dimi- 
nishing resources  of  the  Treasury. 

He  augured  nothing  good  from  the  state  of 
things.  He  did  not  comprehend  the  great 
movement  that  was  upheaving  the  French 
nation ;  he  recognised  only  the  disorder  and 
confusion  accompanying  the  emission  of  ideas, 
new  and  absurd  to  him  and  to  those  of  his 
caste.  He  wrote  to  his  father  (26th  June 
1789):— 

"  The  ferment  is  extreme ;  you  know  what 
French  heads  are,  and  you  can  easily  picture  to 
yourself  to  what  turbulence  they  may  be  roused, 
but  you  could  never  have  imagined  the  in- 
decency of  all  this,  and  God  knows  how  it 
will  end!" 

He  takes  note  of  a  few  instances  in  which  the 
King  was  inclined  to  resist,  but  he  is  chiefly 
anxious  because  "they  are  not  sure  of  the 
French  soldiery,  and  are  obliged  to  employ  for- 
eigners as  much  as  possible." 

Not  all  foreigners,  however,  for  Louis  XVI. 
had  just  dismissed  his  Genevese  Minister,  Necker, 
and  replaced  him  by  "men  of  his  own."  The 
dismissal  of  Necker  was  not  a  bad  move ;  "  the 
great  man  infected  with  popularity "  was  no 
better  able  to  cope  with  events  than  another. 
The  misfortune  was  that  the  Kiug  should  have 
replaced  Necker  as  President  of  the  Council 
by  Baron  de  Breteuil,  of  whom  the  Marquise 
de  Fleury  said,  not  without  justice,  "  The 
Baron    is   not    merely   stupid ;    he   is   a   fool." 


122  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  old  Marshal  de  Broglie  was  made  Minister 
of  War. 

The  result  of  these  appointments  came  with 
promptitude.  Fersen  writes  on  the  22  nd  of 
July  : — "  The  populace  have  seized  upon  the 
Bastille  and  massacred  M.  de  Launay,  the 
governor,  in  a  horrible  manner.  They  took 
36,000  muskets  from  the  Invalides  ;  all  vehicles 
were  stopped  in  Paris ;  every  one  had  to  go  on 
foot,  and  the  mob  reviled  the  nobility." 

These  violent  acts  of  the  populace  led  to  a 
fresh  concession  by  the  King,  who  had  said, 
*'  I  will  not  have  one  single  man  perish  in  my 
quarrel."     Necker  was  recalled. 

This  was  a  good  opportunity  for  the  princes 
to  come  forward  and  prove  their  courage  and 
resolution.  Much  was  expected  of  the  young 
Comte  d'Artois,  who  posed  everywhere  as  a 
defender  of  the  rights  of  the  monarchy,  and 
was  the  first  to  condemn  his  brother  s  weakness  ; 
but  that  expectation  was  soon  dispelled.  The 
Comte  d'Artois,  more  prudent  than  valiant, 
bent  upon  taking  care  of  himself  rather  than 
the  royal  authority  for  which  he  professed  so 
much  solicitude,  thought  proper  to  get  away  im- 
mediately with  his  children,  thus  setting  the 
example  of  emigration  and  giving  the  signal  for 
the  exodus. 

The  three  princes,  Condd,  Conti,  and  Bourbon, 
followed  him,  and  Baron  de  Breteuil,  that  he 
might  not  be  taken  for  a  fool  this  time, 
promptly  put  the  frontier  between  himself  and 
his  fellow-countrymen. 

These   successive  departures   augmented   the 


TUMULT  AKD  DESEKTION  123 

evils  of  the  time  by  increasing  the  popular 
suspicion.  What  was  it  all  those  princes,  all 
those  nobles,  had  gone  abroad  to  seek  ?  Safe 
shelter  for  themselves  in  the  first  place,  but  also 
enemies  for  France.  The  effect  of  the  emigra- 
tion was,  therefore,  to  diminish  the  number  of 
the  champions  of  royalty,  and  to  create  fresh 
enemies  for  it. 

The  popular  fear  grew  apace,  and  found  utter- 
ance in  violence.  A  disturbance  that  took  place 
at  Valenciennes  w^as  easily  put  down,  but 
tumults  arose  constantly  in  Paris,  and  at  the 
same  time  desertion  was  largely  increased. 
Fersen  writes  on  the  15th  of  August: — "It  is 
said  that,  according  to  the  reports  made  by 
the  regiments  to  the  War  Office,  there  have 
been,  since  the  i^th  of  July,  twelve  thousand 
seven  hundred  andjifty  deserters,  not  reckoning 
the  Gardes  Frangaises.  .  .  .  There  is  no  longer 
law  or  order,  justice,  discipline,  or  religion  in  the 
kingdom  :  all  bonds  are  broken,  and  how  are 
they  to  be  reconstituted  ?  I  cannot  tell ;  but 
such  is  the  eff"ect  of  the  progress  of  learning,  of 
Anglo-mania,  and  philosophy.  France  is  ruined 
for  a  long  time." 

On  the  3rd  of  September  he  writes  : — 
"  All  bonds  are  broken,  the  authority  of  the 
King  is  gone,  and  Paris  is  trembling  before 
forty  or  fifty  thousand  ruffians  (bandits)  or 
vagabonds.  Li  the  provinces  the  people  are 
full  of  the  notion  that  the  philosophers  have 
been  disseminating  for  so  long,  that  all  men 
are  equal ;  and  the  abolition  of  feudal  and 
other  rights,  upon  which  the  Assembly  decided 


124  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

in  three  hours,  and  after  supper,  has  p>Grsuaded 
them  that  they  need  not  pay  anything.  .  ,  . 
The  nobles  are  in  despair,  the  clergy  are  like 
men  suddenly  gone  mad,  and  the  Third  Estate 
is  very  ill-content.  Several  regiments  have  re- 
volted ;  some  have  even  struck  their  superior 
officers.  In  our  garrison  it  has  not  yet  come 
to  this,  but  the  soldiers,  having  forced  the  gates 
of  the  quarters  and  the  town,  and  gone  out  to 
drink  in  the  country,  committed  terrible  out- 
rages there  for  three  days  together.  The  third 
day  they  would  have  pillaged  and  set  fire  to 
the  town  had  not  the  drums  beat  to  arms ; 
then,  with  the  assistance  of  the  town  militia, 
we  restored  quiet  and  order. 

"  If  I  were  writing  from  Paris,  I  could  not 
venture  to  tell  you  all  this ;  the  epistolary 
inquisition  has  been  very  active  there ;  even 
the  letters  of  the  King  and  Queen  have  not 
escaped  it." 

At  this  particular  moment  Count  Fersen 
left  his  garrison  at  Valenciennes  and  came  to 
Versailles,  in  obedience  either  to  a  suggestion  of 
his  own  heart  or  to  a  request.  Events  speedily 
proved  to  him  that  his  presence  was  likely  to 
be  useful. 

The  ferment,  which  was  increasing  in  Paris, 
gave  rise  to  well-founded  fears  for  the  safety 
of  the  royal  family,  and  also  for  that  of  the 
National  Assembly.  At  Versailles  there  was 
no  longer  any  force  capable  of  resisting  the 
slightest  popular  movement :  since  the  deser- 
tions and  the  decomposition  of  the  regular  army, 
the  means  of  defence  was  reduced  to  a  small  body 


VERSAILLES  IS  THREATENED  125 

of  militia.  Now  Versailles  was  beginning  to  be 
directly  threatened  by  Paris.  This  was  openly 
stated ;  the  plans  of  the  rioters  were  no  secret 
to  any  one,  and  the  fact  was  known  to  Mira- 
beau,  who  spoke  freely  of  it  to  one  Blaisot,  a 
bookseller  at  Versailles. 

"My  dear  Blaisot,"  said  he,  "out  of  regard 
for  you  I  wish  to  give  you  notice  that  in  a 
few  days  you  will  see  great  troubles,  and  even 
horrors :  blood  will  be  shed  at  Versailles.  I 
warn  you  of  this,  so  as  to  keep  you  from  any 
personal  uneasiness  :  good  citizens  like  you 
have  nothing  to  fear." 

Loustalot  wrote  in  his  Journal :  "  There  must 
be  another  fit  of  revolution;  everything  poiuts 
to  this." 

The  Comte  de  Saint-Priest,  the  only  brave 
and  active  Minister,  resolved  to  resist  the  pre- 
announced  attack,  and  summoned  the  Flandre 
regiment,  one  of  the  few  that  could  still  be 
trusted. 

But  even  precautions  became  dangers  in  those 
disastrous  days.  The  arrival  of  the  soldiers 
aroused  the  anger  of  the  patriots,  and  that 
anger  rose  to  fury  when  the  events  of  the  ist 
and  2nd  of  October  became  known. 

The  body-guards  had  invited  their  comrades 
of  the  Flandre  regiment  to  a  banquet,  which 
was  given  by  permission  of  their  Majesties  in 
the  theatre  of  the  chateau.  The  officers  and 
soldiers  were  excited  by  the  generous  wines, 
and  by  the  presence  of  all  the  distinguished 
personages  still  remaining  at  the  Court,  by 
whom  the  tiers  of  boxes  were  crowded ;  their 


126  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

enthusiasm  was  fired  by  the  entry  of  the  King 
followed  by  the  Queen,  carrying  the  Dauphin 
in  her  arms,  and  when  the  orchestra  greeted  the 
royal  visitors  with  the  well-known  strains  of  "  0 
Richard !  6  mon  roi !  Vunivers  fahando7ine," 
they  were  carried  away  beyond  all  restraint,  and 
madly  cheered  their  Majesties.  Then  followed 
an  extraordinary  scene.  They  tore  off  their 
tri-coloured  cockades,  replaced  them  by  white 
ones  hastily  made  up  with  ribbons  which 
the  women  who  were  present  detached  from 
their  dresses,  and  then,  forming  an  escort  to 
the  royal  personages,  they  left  the  scene  of 
the  banquet  and  went  out  into  the  great  court- 
yard, frantically  renewing  their  expressions  of 
loyalty. 

Louis  XVI.  had  not  sufficient  firmness  to 
stop  these  dangerous  manifestations  at  once ; 
the  Queen  enjoyed  the  acclamations,  to  which 
she  was  no  longer  accustomed ;  everybody  was 
carried  away  by  the  enthusiasm  of  their  faith- 
ful champions,  which  they  took  for  a  forecast 
of  victory. 

The  awakening  was  terrible.  Paris  thrilled 
with  rage  when  these  occurrences,  amplified 
and  distorted  by  rumour,  were  related.  "  Was 
patrouillotisme  to  get  the  better  of  patriotism  ?" 
according  to  a  caricature  of  the  day.  What 
disgrace  for  the  conquerors  of  the  Bastille  ! 
But  no,  no  !  that  should  not  be.  Out  of  their 
lairs  came  the  frantic  populace  ;  Maillart  was 
there ;  the  hags  and  shrews  followed  him ;  the 
Faubourgs  rose  in  tumult :  tlie  starving  mob 
was  roused  to  fury  against  the  feasting  soldiery. 


THE  MOB  AT  THE  CHATEAU  127 

All  the  scoundrels  and  beggars  of  Paris  marched 
upon  Versailles. 

It  was  the  5th  of  October.  The  old  capital 
of  the  kings  was  quiet,  and  the  royal  family, 
reassured  by  the  joyous  shouts  that  still  echoed 
in  their  ears,  had  dispersed  to  follow  their 
respective  inclinations  in  the  employment  of 
that  peaceful  day.  Louis  XVI.  was  stag-hunt- 
ing in  the  neighbourhood  of  Rambouillet, 
Marie  Antoinette  had  sought  the  quiet  of 
Trianon,  Madame  Elizabeth  had  gone  to  Mon- 
treuil,  and  Mesdames,  the  King's  aunts,  were 
at  Bellevue. 

The  news  of  the  approach  of  the  mob  spread 
quickly ;  the  King  returned  in  haste  to  the 
palace,  and  received  a  deputation  of  women, 
who  clamoured  for  bread.  Then  came  parley- 
ing, in  the  attempt  to  gain  time.  Marie 
Antoinette  had  left  Trianon ;  the  family,  col- 
lected together,  were  conjecturing  whether  she 

would  take   advantaoje   of  the   still  -  remaining: 

..."  ^ 

possibility   of  flight,   and   so  escape   from   the 

threatening  populace,  when  Lafayette  ap- 
peared. Lafayette  had  endeavoured  to  stop,  and 
then  to  moderate,  the  tumult.  Finding  either 
impossible,  he  assembled  a  few  battalions  of 
the  National  Guard  and  followed  the  mob,  in 
the  hope  of  preventing  any  great  calamity. 
His  presence  certainly  moderated  the  popular 
violence. 

Night  fell,  and  redoubled  the  fear,  if  not 
the  danger,  of  the  unhappy  persons  shut  up  in 
the  chateau.  Fersen  was  with  the  Queen, 
and,  if  we  are  to  believe  a  statement  made  by 


128  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Mme.  Carapan,  reported  by  Lord  Holland  to 
Talleyrand,  and  embodied  in  the  Memoires  of 
the  latter,  he  did  not  leave  her  for  a  moment, 
even  following  her  into  her  bedroom,  and  when 
the  tumult  was  revived  by  one  of  the  body- 
guards firing  a  shot,  he  escaped  in  disguise  from 
that  room,  which  anybody  might  invade. 

He  did  not  go  away,  however ;  the  danger 
was  too  great  and  the  defenders  were  too  few. 
The  night  passed  in  terror  for  the  royal  family, 
their  attendants,  and  the  body-guard.  At 
length,  the  dawn  came ;  the  crowd,  with  ever- 
increasing  numbers,  was  still  there,  howling 
under  the  windows,  and  ever  above  the  up- 
roar rose  the  shout,  "Down  with  the  Austrian 
woman ! " 

Lafayette  was  in  the  chateau ;  he  was  unable 
to  quell  the  tumult,  and  equally  unable  to  in- 
duce the  King  and  Queen  to  submit  to  the  will 
of  the  crowd,  who  desired  to  bring  them  back 
to  Paris.  The  cries  and  threats  were  redoubled. 
What  was  to  be  done  ? 

Time  was  passing,  and  the  popular  fury  was 
increasing  with  every  moment.  Lafayette  had 
an  inspiration. 

"  Madame,"  he  ventured  to  say  to  the  Queen, 
*'  what  is  your  personal  intention  ? " 

In  the  hour  of  peril  the  daughter  of  Maria 
Theresa  showed  all  the  courage  of  her  race. 

"  I  know  the  fate  that  awaits  me,"  she 
replied  firmly,  "but  my  duty  is  to  die  at 
the  feet  of  the  King,  and  in  the  arms  of  my 
children." 

"  Then,    Madame,    come    with    me ! "    said 


Ol!i  THE  BALCO:t^Y  129 

Lafayette ;  and  lie  tnoved  as  thougli  to  lead 
her  to  the  balcony  facing  the  crowd. 

Brave  as  she  was,  Marie  Antoinette  hesi- 
tated. 

"  What !  alone  upon  the  balcony  ?  Have 
you  not  seen  the  signs  that  have  been  made 
tome?" 

In  truth,  those  signs  were  equally  terrible 
and  expressive. 

"Yes,  Madame,  let  us  go  there,"  insisted 
Lafayette,  who  risked  his  own  life  by  this 
act. 

Fersen  was  present.  By  a  look  the  Swedish 
gentleman  gave  fresh  courage  to  the  Queen  of 
France.  She  decided  instantly,  and  valiantly 
walked  forward  into  the  view  of  the  people. 
Lafayette  could  not  speak ;  his  voice  would 
not  have  been  heard.  He  resorted  to  a 
"  hazardous  but  decisive  sign : "  he  took  the 
Queen's  hand  and  kissed  it. 

This  action  worked  an  instantaneous  change. 
Courage,  daring,  produced  their  usual  effect ; 
the  conquered  crowd  passed  from  rage  to  ad- 
miration ;  a  great  clamour  arose,  carrying  to 
the  astonished  ears  of  the  actors  in  this  scene, 
cries  of  "  Long  live  the  General !  "  "  Long 
live  the  Queen  ! " 

But,  whether  it  found  voice  in  shouts  or  in 
howls,  the  will  of  the  crowd  had  to  be  obeyed. 

They  intended  to  bring  back  "the  baker, 
the  baker's  wife,  and  the  little  baker's  boy,"  to 
Paris.  They  believed  that  they  would  be  safe 
from  court-plots  when  they  should  have  the 
royal  family  in  their  possession.     No  resistance 


I30  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

could  be  offered,  and  preparations  were  made 
for  the  return.  At  half-past  two  the  carriages 
were  ready,  and  the  royal  prisoners  set  out 
for  Paris.  Count  Fersen  followed  with  the 
members  of  the  King's  household. 

Paris  was  not  reached  until  evening ;  it  was 
dark,  and  the  long -disused  Tuileries,  sombre 
and  silent  as  a  tomb,  received  the  unfortunate 
royal  family.  There  were  scarcely  enough  dis- 
mantled beds  and  rickety  chairs  for  their  use. 
Some  articles  of  furniture  were  hastily  procured  ; 
it  seemed  as  though  the  new-comers  were  but 
temporary  lodgers  in  that  ancient  dwelling  of 
the  kings. 

Count  Fersen  settled  himself  in  Paris,  in 
the  Eue  du  Bac ;  he  would  not  leave  those  to 
whom  he  was  bound,  not  so  much  by  his  diplo- 
matic mission,  as  by  his  affection  for  them. 

On  the  9th  of  October  he  informs  his  father 
of  these  sad  events. 

"  I  witnessed  everything,  and  I  returned  to 
Paris  in  one  of  the  King's  carriages ;  we  were 
six  hours  and  a  half  on  the  road.  May  God 
preserve  me  from  again  beholding  so  afflicting 
a  spectacle  as  that  of  those  two  days !  The 
people  seemed  enchanted  to  see  the  King  and 
his  family.  The  Queen  was  warmly  applauded, 
and  she  cannot  fail  to  be  when  she  is  known, 
and  justice  is  done  to  her  desire  for  good 
and  the  kindness  of  her  heart.  The  States- 
General  are  about  to  come  to  Paris,  and  will 
begin  their  sittings,  but  I  do  not  yet  know  the 
day." 

After  the  storm  came  the  calm  that  ensued 


THE  KING'S  JOUENAL  131 

on  all  the  violent  crises  of  the  time.      Louis 
XVI.  indicates  this  in  his  journal : — 

"  October  5. — Killed  twenty-one  head  at  the  Chatillon 
gate ;  interrupted  by  events ;  went  and  returned  on  horse- 
back. 

"  6. — Departure  for  Paris  at  lialf-past  two ;  visit  to  the 
Hotel  de  Ville ;  supped  and  slept  at  the  Tuileries. 

"  7. — Nothing.     My  aunts  came  to  dinner. 

"8.— Nothing." 

The  winter  was  a  dismal  time  for  the  royal 
family.  The  people  of  Paris,  excited  by  the 
increasing  poverty  and  the  stormy  discussions  of 
the  National  Assembly,  Avhich  reached  them  in 
an  exaggerated  and  envenomed  form  through 
the  gazettes  or  the  speeches  of  the  club  orators, 
had  ceased  to  regard  the  King  and  Queen  with 
either  affection  or  respect.  The  Queen  con- 
tinued to  be  the  object  of  terrible  threats.  The 
situation  grew  worse  day  by  day,  and  it  was 
very  difficult  to  hope  for  a  revulsion  in  public 
opinion. 

Count  Fersen  was  alive  to  the  danger  of  pro- 
Ion  o^ed  inaction,  althoufi^h  his  ardent  devotion 
to  Marie  Antoinette  and  his  great  admiration 
of  her  had  led  him  into  certain  delusions.  Thus, 
although  he  writes  to  Gustavus  III.,  on  the  7th 
of  January  1790,  that  "the  King's  party  was 
already  much  strengthened  in  the  Assembly 
and  in  the  provinces,"  that  "  the  courage,  the 
firmness,  and  the  good  conduct  of  the  Queen 
had  brought  many  people  back  to  her,"  he  did 
not  persuade  himself  into  false  security.  He 
had  gone  to  Valenciennes  to  meet  Baron  Taube, 
and  had  passed  a  week  with  him  there. 


132  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Baron  Evert  Taube,  lieutenant-general  and 
first  gentleman  of  the  King's  chamber  at  the 
Court  of  Sweden,  possessed  the  entire  confidence 
of  Gustavus  III. ,  and  as  he  was  a  most  intimate 
friend  of  Fersen,  the  two  had  been  chosen,  as 
we  have  seen,  as  the  safest  and  most  active 
intermediaries  for  the  secret  negotiations  to  be 
carried  on  between  the  Tuileries  and  Stockholm. 
All  the  correspondence  passed  through  their 
hands,  and  never  were  more  faithful  agents 
employed  in  the  service  of  the  royal  prisoners. 
After  they  had  conferred  together  and  agreed 
upon  the  course  to  be  taken,  they  parted  ;  Taube 
went  back  to  Sweden,  and  Fersen  set  out  on 
his  return  to  France.  He  proceeded  so  far  as 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  from  whence  he  wrote  a  long 
letter  to  his  King,  thanking  him  anew  for 
the  mission  he  had  confided  to  him.  He  did 
not  reach  Paris  until  the  17th  or  i8th  of 
January. 

From  that  moment  he  carried  on  an  active 
correspondence  with  Sweden.  It  was  of  two 
sorts,  the  one,  addressed  to  Gustavus  III.,  being 
entirely  political,  the  other,  addressed  to  his 
father,  containing  the  narrative  of  his  impressions 
according  to  the  progress  of  events  under  his 
observation. 

His  comments  possess  deep  interest  and  are 
very  curious,  for  they  are  those  of  a  witness 
as  impartial  as  it  was  possible  for  him  with  his 
old  monarchical  creed  to  be.  His  severe  judg- 
ment of  Necker  is  justified. 

"M.  Necker,"  he  writes,  "as  ignorant  in  ad- 
ministration   as   he   is   said   to   be   learned    in 


APPEECIATIONS  133 

finance,  and  imbued  with  the  philosophic  ideas, 
never  bethought  him  that  it  was  necessary  to 
make  friends  for  the  King.  He  regarded  the 
means  of  persuasion  as  hardly  honest  ;  he 
wanted  to  count  as  an  honest  man  among  rogues, 
and  he  merely  to  be  reckoned  their  dupe.  His 
unbounded  self-esteem  made  him  believe  that 
he  could  persuade  them ;  but  English  money 
had  stronger  and  more  irresistible  arguments  to 
oifer.  M.  Necker  is  not  guilty  of  ignorance 
only,  he  is  also  guilty  of  treason.  He  desired 
to  be  the  people's  Minister,  to  reign  through 
the  people,  and  to  force  the  King  into  being 
unable  to  do  without  him ;  he  has  sacrificed 
the  King  and  the  State  to  his  ambition.  It  is 
true  that  he  has  been  punished  for  this,  for  his 
influence  is  now  gone ;  but  his  punishment  is  no 
remedy  for  anything,  and  the  King  has  been 
ivrong  in  not  reigning  through  him,  seeing  that 
he  cannot  reign  without  him. 

"  Among  the  Ministers,  only  M.  de  la  Luzerne 
and  M.  de  Saint-Priest  mean  well  to  the  King ; 
the  others  are  all  fools  or  rascals,  in  whom  no 
confidence  can  be  placed.  M.  de  Saint-Priest 
combines  character  and  firmness  with  ability, 
and  if  occasion  arise  he  is  the  only  one  on  whom 
the  King  can  lean.  I  get  on  very  well  with 
him ;  his  house  is  mine ;  he  showers  kindness, 
politeness,  and  confidence  upon  me.  Through 
him  I  know  everything  that  takes  place  ;  he  even 
consults  me  frequently.  Notwithstanding  all 
this,  I  only  tell  him  what  I  think  fit ;  prudence 
is  more  than  ever  necessary"  (ist  February 
1790). 


134  A  FRIEXD  OF  THE  QUEEN 

"You  will  see  by  the  public  papers  what  a 
state  the  army  is  in ;  there  is  no  longer  either 
order  or  discipline.  Everything  is  turned  up- 
side down.  The  soldiers  form  committees,  break, 
try,  and  often  execute  their  officers"  (28th  of 
June  1790). 

In  the  midst  of  this  disorder  a  great  fete 
was  organised.  The  idea  of  this  fete  was  fine, 
and  its  effect  could  not  fail  to  be  imposing. 
The  Constituante  decreed  that  on  the  14th  of 
July,  in  order  to  celebrate  the  taking  of  the 
Bastille,  an  immense  assembly,  composed  of 
envoys  from  all  the  departments,  should  take 
the  oath  of  fidelity  and  obedience  to  the  new 
Constitution.  The  idea  was  novel  as  well  as 
patriotic,  and  it  was  admirably  carried  out. 
The  people  were  delighted  with  the  place 
selected  ;  it  was  the  Champ  -  de  -  Mars,  sur- 
rounded by  raised  sod  seats ;  in  the  centre  an 
altar  was  erected.  The  people  had  not  yet 
learned  to  dispense  with  the  forms  of  religion. 
The  ceremony  began  with  a  Mass.  One  indi- 
vidual who  had  the  honour  to  officiate  would 
have  passed  unnamed,  had  he  not  afterwards 
won  universal  renown,  although  he  ultimately 
discarded  his  sacred  calling.  The  celebrant  was 
the  Bishop  of  Autun,  M.  de  Talleyrand -Peri- 
gord,  who  owed  solely  to  his  episcopal  dignity 
a  favour  from  which  the  faults  of  his  youth, 
the  scandals  of  his  private  life,  and  his  well- 
known  unbelief  ought  to  have  debarred  him. 
His  evil  reputation  had  inspired  Chenier  with 
the  following  epigram  : — 


A  SILENT  APPEAL  135 

"  Roquette  dans  son  temps,  Perigord  dans  le  notre 
Furent  deux  eveques  d'Autun  ; 
Tartufe  est  le  portrait  de  lime, 
Ah  !  si  Moliere  ett  connu  I'autre  !  " 

But  individuals  were  effaced  by  the  majesty 
of  tlie  place  and  the  grandeur  of  the  idea  in  this 
great  manifestation  of  France  as  a  whole  :  the 
vast  federated  multitude  marching  past  with 
their  banners  before  the  King,  the  Assembly, 
and  the  Municipality  formed  so  impressive  a 
sight  that  all  the  spectators  were  enthralled  by 
it.  The  Queen  herself,  sharing  the  general 
emotion,  held  up  her  son  in  her  arms  and 
showed  him  to  the  people,  as  though  she  would 
commend  him  to  their  love. 

The  people,  enraptured  in  their  turn,  for- 
got their  wrath,  their  resentment,  and  their 
suspicions  for  a  brief  space,  and  responded  by 
prolonged  acclamations. 

Count  Fersen  was  present  at  this  spectacle, 
but  the  cool  spirit  of  the  North  is  not  readily 
inflamed,  and  the  Swede  was  alive  only  to  the 
minor  points  of  that  federation,  or  at  least  he 
dwelt  upon  these  only.  In  the  account  which 
he  sends  to  his  father,  he  describes  the  people 
of  the  lower  class  who  were  present  as  making 
the  tour  of  the  amphitheatre,  singing  and  "  danc- 
ing as  savages  do  before  devouring  a  Christian." 

It  is  evident  that  he  shared  the  impressions 
which  these  revolutionary  festivals  made  upon 
the  partisans  of  the  old  regime,  who  con- 
descended to  mock  at  them,  after  the  fashion 
of  the  opposition  in  every  country  and  at  all 
times.  In  a  dossier  of  the  Eevolutionary  Tri- 
bunal there  is  a  song  which  was  seized  at  the 


136  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

abode  of  Mme.  Quatresols  de  Marolles  ;  it  seems 
amusing  enough  to  be  reproduced  here. 

SONG. 

To  the  air  :  Ale !  le  bel  oiseau,  vraiment  I 

Oh  !  queu  superbe  serment ! 
Comm'ga  t'on  n'en  verra  guere. 
Oh  !  queu  superbe  serment, 
S'il  n'y  e<it  ni  pluie  ni  vent. 

Figurez-vous  le  Champ-de-Mars, 
Qu'est  bien  plus  grand  qu'  not'  cimeti6re  j 
II  dtait  tout  plein  d'soiidarts 
Qu'avaient  quasi  I'air  de  guerre. 
Oh  !  le  superbe  serment,  &c. 

Malgrd  c'te  plviie  et  le  vent, 
On  fit  defiler  I's  armees. 
Je  m'disais  en  les  regardant : 
Ah  !  bon  Dieu  !  que  d'poules  mouillees  1 
Oh  !  le  superbe  serment,  &c. 

Fallait  voir  nos  deputes 

Dent  queuques-uns  faisaient  la  moue, 

C'etaient  de  vrais  culs  crottes 

Qui  se  trainaient  dans  la  boue. 

Oh  !  le  superbe  serment,  &c.    . 

II  y  a  t'un'  chos'  sapendant 
Qui  m'attlige  et  qui  m'oppresse. 
Ca  fait  du  tort  an  serment : 
C'est  I'boiteux  qu'a  dit  la  messe. 

Oh  !  le  superbe  serment ! 

Comme  9a  t'on  n'en  verra  gufere, 

De  ce  superbe  serment 

Qu'etait  si  beau,  qu'etait  si  grand  i 

lis  disaient  qne  ce  jur'ment 
N'etait  pas  de  bonne  treuipe, 
Ce  s'rait  dommage  vraiment 
Si  c'n^tait  que  d'la  detrempe. 

Oh  !  queu  superbe  serment ! 

Comm'  9a  s'ra  biau  en  estampe  ! 

Oh  !  le  superbe  serment ! 

La  n'y  aura  ni  pluie  ni  vent ! 


COUNT  FEES  EN'S  IMPRESSIONS  137 

The  harmless  song  quoted  above  caused 
Mme.  de  Marolles  to  be  sentenced  to  death  and 
executed. 

Eeturning  to  the  impressions  of  Count  Fersen, 
it  is  but  fair  to  note  that  in  his  letter  to  Baron 
Taube  he  does  not  omit  what  may  pass  for  a 
favourable  symptom,  but  relates  with  satisfac- 
tion that  there  was  a  good  deal  of  "  Long  live 
the  King,"  "  Long  live  the  Queen,"  "  Long  live 
the  Dauphin,"  but  no  other  "  vivats." 

He  is  careful  to  record  the  impression  which 
Marie  Antoinette  produced  upon  the  deputies 
from  the  provinces.  "  They  were  enchanted 
with  the  Queen,"  he  writes ;  "  she  bestowed 
upon  them  all  the  kindness  and  graciousness 
of  which  she  can  be  so  lavish." 

Is  he  not  too  partial  when  he  sums  up 
his  impressions  in  these  words  :  "  The  cere- 
mony was  ridiculous,  indecorous,  and  con- 
sequently unimportant,  notwithstanding  the 
stage  on  which  it  was  performed,  which  was 
superb  "  ? 

The  Fete  of  the  Federation,  by  the  happy 
hazard  of  events,  afforded  an  opportunity  which 
would  have  enabled  a  spirited  and  energetic 
prince  to  regain  his  wavering  rule  over  subjects 
still  inclined  by  ancient  custom  towards  the 
object  of  their  former  veneration.  Paris,  still 
quiet  enough  and  safe  enough  for  individuals, 
was  not  satisfied  with  the  Assembly,  which 
was  not  fulfilling  its  promises  to  the  city 
quickly  enough.  Therefore,  Count  Fersen  hopes 
that  "  when  once  the  discontent  has  risen  to  its 
height,  the   new  order  of  things  will  be  over- 


138  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

turned  as  quickly  as  the  old ;  this  will  be 
effected  by  the  vivacity  and  the  levity  of  the 
French."  The  King  got  finally  rid  of  Necker, 
of  whom  it  was  said  that  "  he  gargled  his  throat 
with  all  the  virtues,  but  did  not  swallow  one 
drop  of  any  of  them."  Mirabeau  was  making 
approaches  to  the  Court  party,  and  thus  it 
was  believed  that  M.  de  Lafayette,  "  that  poor 
rascal,"  whose  sworn  enemy  the  great  orator 
was,  might  be  successfully  opposed. 

Unfortunately  nothing  availed  to  change  the 
character  of  Louis  XVL  "  He  feels  his  posi- 
tion keenly,"  writes  Fersen  to  Baron  Taube  on 
the  7th  of  March  1791,  "but  he  has  not  the 
gift  of  expressing  himself,  or  saying  pleasant 
things."  The  Queen  only  was  equal  to  the 
occasion  :  "  her  courage  never  fails,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  admire  her  sufficiently." 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  fresh  inci- 
dents again  altered  the  situation  and  precipi- 
tated events. 

The  King,  who  never  paltered  with  anything 
that  touched  his  religious  principles,  objected 
to  the  ministrations  of  a  priest  who  had  taken 
the  oath  to  the  Constitution.  He  had,  there- 
fore, decided  upon  fulfilling  his  Easter  duties 
at  Saint-Cloud.  On  the  i8th  of  April  1791  he 
gave  his  orders  accordingly.  The  carriages  were 
drawn  up  in  the  courtyard,  the  King,  the  Queen, 
the  Children  of  France,  and  Mme.  de  Tourzel 
came  down  and  took  their  places ;  but  they 
were  hardly  seated  before  the  National  Guards 
surrounded  the  carriages  and  refused  to  allow 
them   to   start.      In  vain   did  Lafayette   press 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CAPTIVITY  139 

forwcird  and  try  to  speak  to  these  madmen. 
They  would  not  listen  to  him,  and  declared 
that  they  would  prevent  the  departure  of 
the  King,  whom  they  called  "  an  aristocrat, 
and  a  fat  pig''  '^ He  is  paid  twenty-Jive 
millions,''  they  cried ;  "  the  least  he  can  do  is 
our  will." 

The  Queen  ventured  to  interpose. 

"  There's  a  nice  b to  give  orders  ! "  they 

shouted.  Lafayette,  indignant  at  this  disgraceful 
and  ridiculous  scene,  asked  the  King  whether  it 
was  his  pleasure  that  force  should  be  used  to  set 
him  free  and  to  cause  the  law  to  be  respected ; 
but  Louis  would  only  repeat  the  same  sentence, 
*'  I  will  not  have  blood  shed  for  me ;  when  I  am 
gone  you  may  employ  any  means  you  please  to 
cause  the  law  to  be  respected." 

In  the  meantime,  the  postilion  was  threatened 
with  death  if  he  stirred,  and  the  outrider  narrowly 
escaped  hanging.  If  the  King  had  not  decided 
upon  closing  the  discussion  by  re-entering  the 
chateau,  blood  would  have  been  shed,  and  the 
law  would  have  been  broken  without  waiting 
for  his  departure. 

It  was  impossible  to  prove  more  clearly  to 
the  royal  family  that  they  were  captives  in 
Paris,  or  to  make  a  plainer  suggestion  of  flight, 
since  a  resolution  to  ofi"er  open  resistance  to 
the  rapid  advance  of  the  Revolution  could  not 
be  put  into  the  mind  or  the  heart  of  the  King. 

The  mass  of  the  people  understood  this  in- 
stinctively, and  a  vague  uneasiness  got  abroad. 
Not  that  they  cared  for  the  King — not  that 
they    considered    his    presence    useful    to    the 


I40  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

working  of  the  Constitution ;  but  tliey  knew 
very  well  that  the  King,  free,  in  a  frontier  town 
or  in  a  foreign  country,  could  not  fail  to  unite 
the  enemies  of  France  and  inspire  the  adversaries 
of  the  Eevolution  with  ardour  that  would  be 
dangerous  to  the  whole  nation. 

Thus  every  one  dreaded  to  learn  that  Louis 
XVI.  had  eluded  the  vigilance  of  his  keepers, 
and  with  the  passage  of  time  this  fear  grew. 
Simple  citizens  turned  themselves  into  spies 
and  sentinels.  Camille  Desmoulins  relates  an 
incident  which  occurred  on  the  night  of  the 
20th  of  June  1791,  as  follows  : — 

"  That  night,  one  Busebi,  a  wigmaker  in  the 
Rue  de  Bourbon,  called  on  one  Hucher,  a 
baker,  and  sapper  in  the  battalion  of  the 
Theatines,  in  order  to  impart  to  the  latter  his 
fears  founded  on  what  he  had  just  learned 
concerning  the  King's  arrangements  for  flight. 
They  hastened  on  the  instant  to  arouse  their 
neighbours,  and,  some  thirty  persons  being 
assembled,  they  went  immediately  to  the  abode 
of  M.  de  Lafayette,  and  informed  him  that 
the  King  was  about  to  fly ;  they  then  demanded 
that  he  (Lafayette)  should  take  immediate 
measures  to  prevent  this.  M.  de  Lafayette 
laughed,  and  advised  them  to  return  quietly 
to  their  homes.  They  asked  him  for  the  pass- 
word, so  that  they  might  not  be  stopped,  and 
he  gave  it  to  them.  When  they  had  procured 
the  password,  they  directed  their  steps  towards 
the  Tuileries,  where  they  could  perceive  no 
movement ;  a  number  of  hackney  -  coachmen 
were,  however,  drinking  at  the  little  moveable 


FLIGHT  1  141 

booths  close  by  the  gate  of  the  Carrousel. 
They  then  proceeded  to  inspect  the  -courts 
up  to  the  gate  of  the  Riding-School,  in  which 
the  sittings  of  the  Assembly  were  held,  but 
perceived  nothing  suspicious.  On  their  return, 
they  were  surprised  to  find  only  one  hackney- 
coach  on  the  stand.  All  the  others  had  dis- 
appeared." 

A  few  hours  afterwards  a  rumour  spread 
through  the  city.  It  was  said  that  at  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  M.  Lemoine,  the  King's 
valet-de-chambre,  having  entered  his  master's 
room  according  to  custom,  heard  no  sound, 
and  drew  back  the  curtains  of  the  bed.  No 
one  was  there  ;  the  bed  was  empty  ! 

He  gave  the  alarm,  and  a  search  for  the 
King  was  instituted.  The  attendants  rushed 
into  the  rooms  occupied  by  the  Queen,  the  chil- 
dren, and  Madame  Elizabeth — all  were  empty ! 
There  was  no  doubt  about  it ;  the  royal  family 
had  fled !  The  news  spread  from  the  Tuileries 
to  every  quarter  of  the  city.  The  department 
of  the  municipality  was  informed  of  the  event, 
and  upon  their  order  three  cannon-shots  were 
fired. 

At  this  alarm-signal,  the  crowd  flocked  to 
the  Tuileries.  Everybody  inquired,  all  wanted 
to  know.  The  news  was  speedily  confirmed ; 
and  the  consternation  was  great  at  first,  but 
the  people  soon  recovered  themselves,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Assembly :  "  Our  King  is  there," 
they  said :  *'  Louis  XVI.  can  go  whither  he 
pleases." 

They  tried   to  make    out  how  he  had   fled. 


144  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

False  reports  were  already  in  circulation ;  it 
was  said  that  the  King  had  escaped  by  a 
canal  attainable  from  the  Pavilion  de  Flore, 
and  that  Bouilld  had  taken  him  and  conveyed 
him  to  Metz. 

Then,  according  to  the  difference  of  tempera- 
ment, the  people  were  filled  either  with  anger 
or  with  fear.  Some  there  were  who  rejoiced, 
and  as  every  event  lends  itself  to  comic  treat- 
ment, a  facetious  citizen  pasted  up  the  following 
notice  on  a  wall  of  the  Tuileries  : — 

"  Notice  is  hereby  given  to  the  citizens,  that 
a  fat  pig  has  run  away  from  the  Tuileries : 
those  who  may  meet  with  him  are  requested 
to  bring  him  back  to  his  sty ;  they  will  receive 
a  moderate  reward," 

This  was  not  all :  the  popular  fury  vented 
itself  in  smashing  things  ;  all  the  royal  emblems 
and  memorials  were  attacked ;  escutcheons  and 
fleur-de-lys  were  torn  down.  Insult  was  added 
to  injury,  and  some  wags,  inspired  by  a  happy 
thought  which  would  have  become  the  Comte 
de  Provence,  actually  forced  a  humble  tavern- 
keeper  to  take  down  his  signboard,  which  bore 
these  words  :  '^  Au  hceuf  couronne." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Fliglit  contemplated — The  plan  of  M.  de  Breteuil— The  Marquis 
de  Bouille — Count  Fersen  is  charged  with  the  negotiations 
— Intervention  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany — Movements 
of  troops  on  the  frontier — Baron  de  Goguelat — Forces  at 
the  disposal  of  M.  de  Bouille — Plan  of  journey — Reims 
to  be  avoided  —  Stages  so  far  as  Montmedy  —  Goguelat 
reconnoitres  the  route — The  King's  commands  transmitted 
to  Bouille — Preparations  in  Paris — Baroness  Korff — The 
berline — Meeting  of  Count  Fersen  and  the  Due  d'Orleans 
at  Vincennes — The  Tuileries  watched — Doors  made  in  the 
wood  panelling  —  Persons  associated  with  the  projected 
flight :  Count  Fersen,  Mme.  Sullivan,  Colonel  Crawford — 
Lafayette — Mesdames  de  Tourzel,  Brunier,  and  de  Neuville 
— The  body-guards.  Messieurs  de  Valory,  du  Moustier,  and 
de  Maldent — The  20th  of  June  in  Paris — The  final  pre- 
parations—  Count  Fersen  at  the  Tuileries — A  chest  of 
pistols  and  bullet-casting — Leaving  the  Tuileries — Incidents 
— Count  Fersen  disguised  as  a  hackney-coachman  —  At 
Bondy — Separation — First  relay — Pourboires  too  liberal — 
The  royal  family  think  they  are  out  of  danger — A  saying 
of  Louis  XVI.  —  His  imprudence  —  He  is  recognised  by 
various  persons  —  Pont  Sommevesle  —  Commotion  caused 
by  the  presence  of  the  detachment  commanded  by  Choiseul 
and  Goguelat  —  Sainte  -  Menehould  —  M.  d'Andoins  —  He 
warns  the  King  to  hasten  onward — Drouet  the  postmaster 
and  Guillaume  —  A  quartermaster  escapes  and  pursues, 
but  does  not  come  up  with  them  —  Clermont  —  M.  de 
Damas — Drouet  arrives  at  Varennes  at  a  quarter  to  twelve 
o'clock — The  Procureur  of  the  commune  is  warned — The 
bridge  barred — The  berline  arrives  and  cannot  pass — Arrest 
of  the  travellers  —  The  alarm-bell  —  The  National  Guard 
in  arms — M.  Destez — The  King  makes  himself  known — 
The  night  at  Varennes — Goguelat  attempts  to  deliver  the 
King — Louis  XVI.  tries  to  gain  time — M.  de  Bouille  does 
not  appear — Arrival  of  Messieurs  Romeuf,  aide-de-camp 
to  Lafayette,  and  Baillon — Departure  from  Varennes  for 
Paris — Incidents — Murder  of  M.  de  Dampierre — Meeting 
143 


144  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

at  Epernay  with  the  three  commissaries  sent  by  the 
National  Assembly  —  Barnave,  Latonr  -  Maubourg,  and 
Petion — Potion's  narrative — Paris  re-entered — The  attitude 
of  the  population — The  King's  Journal. 

Since  the  October  "days"  and  the  return  to 
Paris,  no  doubt  could  exist  that  the  royal 
family  were  in  danger,  not  only  from  the 
decisions  of  the  National  Assembly,  but  also 
from  the  angry  passions  of  the  multitude. 
Over  these  the  representatives  of  the  nation 
had  no  influence,  and  the  King  could  not  con- 
trol them  by  force,  the  army  having  in  reality 
ceased  to  exist. 

Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  had  looked 
around  them  for  the  means  of  safety,  or  rather 
for  saviours.  Those  who  presented  themselves 
were  not  inconsiderable  persons.  The  greatest 
in  renown,  and  by  right  of  his  genius,  was 
Mirabeau.  In  his  capacity  of  agitator,  Mira- 
beau  could  estimate  the  force  of  the  storm,  since 
it  was  he  who  had  let  loose  the  winds ;  but 
since  he  had  passed  over  to  the  side  of  the 
Court  he  required  a  force  to  count  upon,  and 
did  not  want  the  royal  authority  to  be  com- 
pletely annihilated.  Accordingly,  ever  since 
October  he  had  been  advising  the  King  to  with- 
draw himself  from  the  demagogic  influences  of 
Paris.  By  this  he  did  not  mean  flight ;  on 
the  contrary,  it  was  his  idea  that  Louis  XVI. 
ought  to  depart  quite  openly,  in  the  noonday, 
to  the  knowledge  and  in  the  sight  of  everybody, 
as  a  constitutional  monarch  making  use  of  his 
prerogative,  and  to  retire  either  to  Fontaine- 
bleau  or   to  some  other   royal  residence,  near 


A  TAEDY  EESOLUTION  145 

enough  to  Paris  to  keep  up  the  feeling  that 
royalty  was  still  present,  far  enough  off  to 
afford  protection  against  a  surprise  like  that  of 
October,  and  where  the  nucleus  of  a  faithful 
army,  capable  of  resisting  the  National  Guards 
of  "  Gilles  Cesar  I'  as  he  called  Lafayette,  might 
be  formed. 

Marie  Antoinette  would  readily  have  adopted 
this  course,  but  Louis  XVL,  with  his  usual 
indecision  and  apathy  of  mind,  could  not  arrive 
at  a  decision,  but  said  Yes  one  day  and  No  the 
next.  Precious  time  was  lost  by  his  indeci- 
sion, and  the  project,  which  might  have  been 
easily  realised  in  1789,  and  was  still  possible 
in  1790,  became  utterly  visionary  in  1791  ; 
this  was  proved  by  the  incidents  of  the  i8th 
of  April. 

In  fact,  the  King  and  Queen  distrusted  Mira- 
beau ;  what  he  proposed  seemed  suspicious  as 
emanating  from  him,  and  while  the  execution 
of  his  plan  was  indefinitely  postponed,  they 
lent  an  ear  to  more  trustworthy  friends  (as  it 
w^as  believed)  of  the  monarchy.  The  Marquis 
de  Bouille,  w^ho  was  in  command  at  Metz,  en- 
treated the  King  to  make  a  pretext  of  war- 
threats  for  seeking  refuge  in  his  army.  The 
Emperor  Leopold  could  easily  be  induced  to 
mass  some  troops  upon  the  frontiers,  so  as  to 
frighten  France  and  render  the  departure  of  the 
King  from  Paris  legitimate.  A  device  of  M.  de 
Breteuil,  which  was  not  very  different  from  that 
of  M.  de  Bouille,  was  adopted.  The  idea  was  to 
fly  from  Paris  to  a  place  on  the  frontier,  from 
whence  the  royal  family  might  either  reach  a 


146  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

foreign  country  if  their  lives  were  in  danger,  or 
return  to  Paris  if  events  were  favourable  to  the 
King's  cause. 

This  project  was  neither  the  bold  expedient 
proposed  by  Mirabeau,  nor  the  plain  and  open 
line  of  action  proposed  by  Bouille ;  it  was 
adopted,  nevertheless,  because  Breteuil,  more 
than  any  other  adviser,  had  the  King's  ear, 
and  also  because  the  King  was  unlucky,  and 
always  chose  the  wrong  instead  of  the  right 
alternative. 

From  November  1790  the  idea  of  flight  be- 
came rooted  in  his  mind.  Yet  he  could  neither 
face  it  without  perturbation  nor  prepare  to  carry 
it  out  with  firmness.  He  read  the  history  of 
England  assiduously,  and  particularly  the  reigns 
that  seemed  to  him  to  be  most  analogous  to  his 
own,  those  of  Charles  the  First  and  James  the 
Second.  He  was  frequently  heard  to  remark 
that  the  sentence  of  death  pronounced  upon 
Charles  the  First  was  due  to  the  fact  that  he 
had  entered  into  a  war  with  his  subjects,  and 
that  if  James  the  Second  lost  his  crown,  it  was 
because  he  fled  from  his  kingdom.  These 
examples,  which  were  constantly  in  his  mind, 
shook  his  already  faltering  resolution.  It  re- 
quired all  the  persistent  efi"orts  of  those  who 
were  about  the  King  to  drag  him  out  of  his 
prolonged  inaction. 

Early  in  November  1790  the  Marquis  de 
Bouill6  had  written  a  long  letter  to  the  King 
in  cipher,  requesting  that  a  decision  to  put  the 
plan  of  retiring  to  a  frontier  town  into  execu- 
tion, should  be  arrived  at  without  delay.     In 


BOUILLE  147 

taking  this  step,  the  Marquis  de  Bouille  was 
actuated  by  motives  which  it  will  be  useful  to 
state.  He  was  not  one  of  those  irreconcilable 
royalists  who  hated  the  Eevolution  by  instinct, 
and  recognised  only  two  courses  to  be  taken 
in  regard  to  it — either  forcible  resistance  or 
emigration.  On  the  contrary,  indeed,  he  had 
received  the  new  ideas  with  favour,  in  so  far 
as  they  remained  compatible  with  the  preserva- 
tion of  royalty.  Constitutional  monarchy  was 
his  ideal,  therefore  a  king  was  necessary  to  him, 
and  his  staunch  adherence  to  Louis  XVI.  was 
more  political  than  chivalrous. 

When  he  found  that  the  King  was  a  prisoner 
in  Paris,  he  immediately  resolved  to  oSer  him 
the  means  of  safeguarding  the  prerogatives 
which  the  Constitution  granted  him. 

Bouille,  commanding  the  troops  in  Alsace, 
Lorraine,  Champagne,  and  Franche-Comte,  was 
the  only  general  who  had  preserved  his  authority 
over  his  soldiers ;  he  alone  had  not  yielded 
before  tumult.  In  the  preceding  summer,  the 
garrison  of  Nancy  having  mutinied,  he  forced 
the  troops  to  return  to  their  duty  by  prompt 
and  stern  repression  ;  this  had  procured  him  the 
thanks  of  the  National  Assembly. 

His  firm  conduct,  added  to  the  prestige 
which  he  had  acquired  by  his  campaigns  in 
India,  in  the  Colonies,  and  in  America,  had 
preserved  some  remains  of  discipline  among 
his  troops.  He  believed  he  could  count  upon 
a  few  faithful  battalions,  and  this  conviction, 
which  was  shared  by  the  King  and  Queen,  made 
them  accept  his  overtures.     From  the  time  they 


148  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

received  his  letter,  the  royal  couple,  agreed  upon 
the  goal  of  the  enterprise,  began  to  prepare 
the  details  of  its  execution. 

They  were  so  closely  watched  that  it  was  out 
of  their  power  to  take  an  active  and  personal 
part  in  the  arrangements ;  it  was  for  them  now 
to  find  a  man  who  would  become  the  soul  of 
the  plot.  This  man  must  have  full  liberty  to 
communicate  with  the  persons  whose  aid  would 
be  necessary  in  preparing  for  the  projected 
escape,  without  arousing  attention,  without  ex- 
citing suspicion. 

It  would  have  been  easy  to  find,  among  the 
gentlemen  loyal  to  the  monarchical  cause  who 
had  remained  in  France,  some  who  would  have 
welcomed  such  an  appeal  to  their  fidelity.  The 
King's  choice,  guided  by  the  Queen,  fell  upon  a 
foreigner,  if,  indeed,  under  the  circumstances, 
the  term  can  be  applied  to  the  friend  whom 
she  selected.     That  friend  was  Count  Fersen. 

Although  the  Queen's  selection  gave  rise 
to  dissatisfaction  among  the  French  when  it 
became  known  afterwards — the  Due  de  Levis 
made  himself  the  echo  of  this  sentiment,  de- 
clarino^  her  choice  to  be  "  unbecominar  in  more 
than  one  respect" — it  is  no  less  true  that  it 
was  a  foregone  conclusion,  and  it  is  readily 
explained  now  that  we  know  the  relations  of 
the  Swedish  gentleman  with  the  Court  of 
France,  and  his  passionate  attachment  to  Marie 
Antoinette. 

Count  Fersen,  to  whom  the  plan  was  im- 
parted from  the  first,  left  nothing  undone  to 
ensure   its   success,   and   although   he   may   be 


"FESTINA  LENTE"  149 

accused  of  some  mistakes,  neither  his  activity 
nor  his  zeal  can  be  questioned. 

In  February  1791  he  made  an  allusion  to  the 
probable  flight  of  the  King  in  writing  to  Baron 
Taube  :  "  If  the  King  of  France  left  Paris,  which 
will  prohahly  happen"  &c.  .  .  .  He  was  already 
endeavouring  to  prepare  the  minds  of  the  sove- 
reigns for  this  event,  so  that  he  might  have 
recourse  at  need  to  their  moral  and  material 
support. 

Although  the  project  was  in  course  of  fulfil- 
ment, ^' Festina  lente"  was  the  order  of  the  day. 
But  the  slow  hastening  was  accelerated  by  the 
death  of  Mirabeau,  w^hich  occurred  unexpectedly 
on  the  2nd  of  April  1791,  and  dispelled  every 
lingering  hesitation  by  removing,  if  not  the  last 
chance,  at  least  the  last  illusion  of  safety.  The 
Marquis  de  Bouilld  was  informed  that  the  plan 
of  flight  was  finally  adopted.  Louis  XVI.  and 
his  family  would  escape  from  Paris,  and  would 
place  himself  under  the  protection  of  the  troops 
at  Montmedy,  not  far  from  the  frontier  of 
Luxembourg.  On  receipt  of  this  news  the 
General  set  to  work  at  once.  Convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  accounting  for  the  movements  of 
troops  by  the  appearance  of  a  danger  from  with- 
out, he  applied  for  the  support  and  complicity 
of  "  the  foreigner." 

"  The  movement  of  the  Austrian  troops  on 
the  frontier  is  necessary,"  he  wrote  to  Fersen. 
"It  is  indispensable  that  a  body  of  troops 
should  arrive  from  Luxembourg,  and  some 
squadrons  be  placed  at  Verton  and  Arlon,  and 
that  some  otiier  points  should  be  garrisoned  ; 


I50  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

without  this  I  might  not  be  able  to  get  out  of 
Metz,  and  to  send  out  four  German  and  Swiss 
battalions,  which  form  the  only  garrison  at 
present,  and  I  could  not  make  the  mounted 
troops  distributed  about  the  flat  country  march 
on  the  frontier.  If  the  Emperor  sincerely  desires 
to  serve  the  King,  he  must  lend  himself  to  this 
plan  and  hasten  the  march  of  the  troops  upon 
Luxembourg." 

The  Emperor  was  quite  sincerely  disposed 
to  serve  the  King,  his  brother-in-law,  and  the 
negotiation  with  him,  carried  on  by  means  of 
Fersen  and  Mercy  Argenteau,  did  not  meet  with 
any  difficulty. 

In  April,  Bouilld  had  sent  Baron  de  Goguelat, 
a  half- pay  officer  on  the  staff,  and  famous 
for  having  grossly  insulted  the  Due  d'Orleans, 
to  Paris.  Early  in  May  Louis  XVI.  sent  him 
back  to  Bouill^  with  a  letter  in  cipher,  announc- 
ing that,  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the 
latter,  the  Austrian  troops  would  be  sent  back 
to  Arlon  about  the  1 2th  of  June,  and  that  the 
King  himself  would  set  out  on  the  15th. 

The  date  seemed  far  off,  but  this  could  not  be 
helped,  for  two  reasons.  The  first  was  that,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  Austrians  would  not  be  ready 
sooner ;  the  second  was  that  a  large  sum  of 
money  was  necessary,  and  the  King  desired, 
before  he  set  out,  to  get  possession  of  the  two 
millions  of  his  Civil  List,  which  were  paid  to 
him  within  the  first  fortnight  of  each  month. 

The  forces  of  the  Marquis  de  Bouille,  suppos- 
ing them  to  be  faithful,  were  sufficiently  strong 
to  secure  the  safety  of  the  royal  family.     They 


THE  ROUTE  151 

were  composed  of  twelve  battalions,  twenty- 
three  squadrons,  and  an  artillery  train  of  sixteen 
guns.  Bouille  received  993,000  livres  in  assig- 
nats,  hidden  in  a  white  silk  cover.  This  sum 
was  ample  for  the  defraying  of  the  necessary 
expenses.  The  King  kept  four  millions  for  him- 
self, and,  anticipating  the  case  of  his  attempting 
something  after  his  escape,  he  had  charged  M. 
de  Bombelles  to  request  the  Emperor  to  give 
him  "  his  credit  for  a  loan  of  fifteen  millions," 
in  default  of  the  loan  itself. 

The  route  adopted  at  first  was  "Meaux,  Chalons, 
Eeims,  Ile-Bethel,  Pauvre,"  as  Fersen  informed 
Bouille.     The  Marquis  did  not  approve  of  this. 

"  On  reflection,"  he  wrote,  "  the  shortest, 
safest,  and  plainest  route  is  by  Meaux,  Mont- 
mirail — bear  in  mind  that  the  road  to  Mont- 
mirail  must  be  taken  at  La  Ferte-sous-Jouarre — 
Chalons,  Sainte-Menehould,  Varennes,  Dun,  and 
Stenay,  not  passing  through  Eeims."  Then 
he  added,  "  Here  is  the  route  in  detail :  from 
Paris  to  Meaux,  ten  posting-leagues ;  from 
Meaux  to  La  Ferte-sous-Jouarre,  five ;  from  La 
Fert^  to  Montmirail,  nine ;  from  Montmirail  to 
Chalons-sur-Marne,  fourteen ;  from  Chalons  to 
Sainte-Menehould,  ten ;  from  Sainte-Menehould 
to  Varennes,  five ;  from  Varennes  to  Dun,  five ; 
from  Dun  to  Stenay,  three;  from  Stenay  to 
Montmedy,  two.  You  can  see  this  route  on  the 
map  of  the  Departments.  It  comes  altogether 
to  sixty-one  posting  leagues.^  By  setting  out 
at  night  and  travelling  the  following,  they  will 
arrive  within  the  second  day." 
*  The  figures  are  not  correct :  it  comes  to  sixty-three  leagues. 


152  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  plan  of  avoiding  Eeims  was  readily 
adopted,  in  that  the  town  was  larger,  and 
besides,  Louis  XVI.  had  been  crowned  there, 
and  would  consequently  run  a  greater  risk  of 
being  recognised. 

The  route  being  fixed,  there  remained  the 
question  of  the  precautions  to  be  observed. 
From  Paris  to  Chalons,  it  was  impossible  to 
think  of  taking  a  single  officer  of  a  military 
post  into  confidence — not  one  was  safe.  Even 
to  Chalons  body-guards  could  not  be  sent :  "  the 
town  had  demanded  to  have  no  more  of  them; " 
but  after  Pont-Sommevesle,  a  little  village  situ- 
ated between  Chalons  and  Sainte-Menehould,  the 
route  lay  within  Bouille's  command  ;  it  was  pos- 
sible to  place  detachments  here  and  there. 

A  certain  incoherence  in  the  mind  of  the 
organisers  of  the  enterprise  makes  itself  mani- 
fest on  this  point.  Count  Fersen  wrote  at  first : 
"  The  most  essential  point  of  all  is  the  security 
of  the  flight ;  an  escort  dispersed  along  the  route 
must  be  had ;  one  shudders  to  think  of  the 
horrors  that  might  occur  if  they  were  betrayed 
and  arrested  "  (9th  May). 

A  few  days  later  his  view  is  somewhat 
changed.  He  writes  :  "  There  will  be  no  need 
of  precautions  from  here  to  Chalons ;  the  best 
of  all  is  to  take  none ;  everything  must  depend 
upon  celerity  and  secrecy,  and  if  you  are  not 
sure  of  your  detachments,  it  would  be  better  not 
to  place  any,  or  at  least  not  to  place  them  until 
after  Varennes,  so  as  not  to  excite  attention  in 
the  country.  The  King  will  then  pass  quite 
simply." 


PROPHETIC  FEARS  153 

These  almost  prophetic  fears  were  realised 
only  too  fully,  to  the  misfortune  of  the  fugi- 
tives. 

Bouille  took  no  account  of  them,  thinking 
himself  "  sure  of  his  detachments."  He  kept  the 
Royal  AUemand  regiment  at  Stenay,  and  sent 
a  squadron  of  hussars  to  Dun ;  two  squadrons 
of  dragoons  were  to  be  at  Clermont  on  the  day 
when  the  King  should  pass.  These  squadrons, 
commanded  by  the  Comte  Charles  de  Damas, 
would  bring  a  detachment  to  Sainte-Menehould, 
while  fifty  hussars  of  the  Varennes  troop  were 
to  proceed  to  Pont-Sommevesle,  under  the  con- 
duct of  young  Choiseul  and  Goguelat. 

A  rumour  was  to  be  spread  that  these  unusual 
movements  of  troops  were  for  the  purpose  of 
escorting  a  treasure. 

On  the  27th  of  May  the  King  writes  to 
Bouille  that  the  departure  is  fixed  for  Sunday 
evening,  the  19th  of  June,  that  he  will  leave 
Paris  in  a  hackney-coach,  and  have  himself  con- 
veyed to  Bondy,  where  he  will  take  the  berline 
prepared  for  the  journey.  A  body-guard  will 
be  at  Bondy,  and  will  go  on  alone  to  apprise 
the  General,  in  case  of  the  failure  of  the  attempt 
to  escape. 

So  that  there  might  be  no  surprise,  and  that 
the  detachments  should  not  be  stationed  too 
long  beforehand  in  localities  fermenting  with 
revolutionary  ideas  and  full  of  the  disturbance 
that  was  spreading  all  over  the  kingdom, 
Bouille  gave  Goguelat  a  final  charge  to  recon- 
noitre the  route  stage  by  stage,  ascertaining 
precisely  the   number  of  leagues  between   the 


154  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

different  relays,  and  the  number  of  hours  neces- 
sary to  accomplish  the  distances. 

Goguelat  acquitted  himself  of  this  duty  with 
the  greatest  care,  and  returned  to  Bouille,  from 
whom  Fersen  received  the  following  little  note, 
dated  the  7th  of  June  : — "  Goguelat  will  have 
told  you  all.  Nothing  is  altered,  the  departure 
is  fixed  for  the  1 9th  ;  if  this  is  changed,  I  will 
inform  you  by  the  courier  of  the  nth.  If  you 
receive  nothing  by  him,  it  will  mean  that  there 
is  no  change."  A  few  days  afterwards,  Fersen, 
still  using  his  cipher,  which,  as  he  believed, 
could  not  be  detected,  begged  the  General  to 
send  Goguelat  again  to  Paris,  instead  of  the  Due 
de  Choiseul,  as  the  King  wished  to  see  him. 
'*  No  one  is  more  staunch,"  wrote  Fersen,  "  but 
he  is  a  young  man  and  flighty ;  I  dread  some 
indiscretion  ;  he  has  too  many  friends,  relations, 
and  perhaps  a  mistress,  to  save." 

The  letter  arrived  too  late  ;  the  Due  de  Choiseul 
had  already  set  out;  He  reached  Paris  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  on  the  nth  of  June. 
His  conduct  did  not  in  any  respect  justify 
Ferssn's  fears ;  but  the  injunction  which  he 
renewed  at  the  close  of  his  letter  was  only 
too  well  justified.  "  Make  yourself  very  sure 
of  the  detachments,  or  place  them  from  Var- 
ennes  only." 

Everything  was  arranged,  the  Marquis  de 
Bouille  left  Metz  on  the  13th  of  June,  ou 
pretext  of  an  inspection.  On  the  15th  he  was 
at  Longwy,  where  he  received  the  following 
communication  from  Fersen  : — 


A  DAY'S  DELAY  155 

"  i^th  June  1 79 1. 

"  The  departure  is  positively  fixed  for  the 
20th,  at  midnight.  An  ill-conditioned  woman 
in  attendance  on  the  Dauphin,  who  cannot  be 
got  rid  of,  and  whose  turn  of  service  lasts  until 
Monday,  is  the  cause  of  the  put-off  until  Monday 
evening,  but  you  may  reckon  upon  that  time. 
....  The  King  will  have  a  red  coat,  and  will 
make   himself    known   accordinof   to  Choiseul's 

o 

report  of  the  spirit  of  the  troops.  ...  I  am 
well  content  with  the  Due  de  Choiseul.  If  all 
should  fail,  he  will  be  at  Metz  on  Friday  morn- 
ing, but  if  not,  you  may  set  out  on  Sunday 
morning,  and  reckon  upon  the  departure  from 
hence  at  midnight  on  Monday.  There  was  no 
means  of  getting  rid  of  this  woman  without 
risking  discovery.  If,  by  chance,  your  marching 
orders  for  the  detachments  have  been  sent  off 
already,  you  might  delay  their  departure  for 
one  day  on  the  pretext  that  the  quarters  are 
not  ready." 

At  the  same  time  Bouill^  received  a  letter 
from  the  King  confirming  the  delay  of  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  informing  him  that  the  Marquis 
d'Agoust,  whom  he  had  been  particularly  recom- 
mended to  take  with  him,  was  not  to  be  of  the 
party.  There  was,  in  fact,  no  room  for  the 
Marquis,  Mme.  de  Tourzel,  as  Governess  of  the 
Children  of  France,  having  claimed  her  right 
to  be  with  them.  Let  us  observe  here  respect- 
ing this  statement,  which  was  contained  in 
the  King's  letter,  and  repeated  by  Bouilld, 
that   it    discredits   the   protestations   of   Mme. 


156  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

de  Tourzel,  who  defended  herself  against  the 
charge  of  having  made  any  such  claim.  It 
was  clearly  the  interest  of  Mme.  de  Tourzel  to 
deny  that  she  had  taken  the  place  of  a  man 
like  the  Marquis  d'Agoust,  who  possessed  both 
head  and  heart ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  assign 
a  motive  for  the  King's  writing  such  a  thing  to 
Bouilld,  or  for  the  latter's  inventing  it.  On 
behalf  of  Mme.  de  Tourzel,  who  was  apparently 
very  glad  to  make  her  escape  with  the  royal 
family,  it  may  be  urged  that  she  could  not  have 
foreseen  the  incidents  which  caused  the  fugi- 
tives to  regret  so  bitterly,  not  her  presence, 
but  the  absence  of  the  Marquis  d'Agoust. 

Louis  XVI.  had  appended  the  following  order 
to  his  letter  : — 

"  By  the  King. 

"  My  intention  being  to  proceed  to  Montmedy 
on  the  approaching  20th  of  June,  the  Sieur 
Bouilld,  lieutenant-general  of  my  armies,  is 
ordered  to  place  troops,  according  as  he  shall 
think  proper  for  the  safety  of  my  person 
and  that  of  my  family,  along  the  route  from 
Chalons-sur-Marne  to  Montmedy ;  it  is  my 
will  that  the  troops  employed  for  this  pur- 
pose execute  all  that  shall  be  prescribed  by 
the  said  Sieur  Bouille,  who  is  hereby  rendered 
responsible  for  the  orders  which  he  shall  give 
them. 

"Given  at  Paris  the  15th  of  June  1791. 

"  Louis." 
Furnished  with  this  paper,  Bouilld  proceeded 


THE  KING'S  ORDER  157 

to  Stenay  011  tlie  2otli  of  June ;  then  on  tlie 
2ist  lie  informed  the  general  officers  that  the 
King  was  about  to  pass,  and  remitted  the  King's 
order  to  them,  with  the  addition  of  the  usual 
formula : — 

"  M.  de  Mandell,  the  officers,  sub-officers  and 
troopers  of  Eoyal  Allemand  are  enjoined  to 
execute  and  cause  to  be  executed  the  present 
order. 

"  BOUILL^. 

"  Stenay,  21st  of  June  1 79 1 ." 

The  Due  de  Choiseul,  and  Goguelat,  were  sent 
to  Pont  Sommevesle,  the  most  distant  post  from 
Stenay,  and  consequently  the  nearest  to  Chalons. 
Their  instructions  were  to  let  the  King  pass 
unnoticed  if  he  were  not  recognised,  and  not 
to  mount  until  some  hours  afterwards ;  but,  if 
he  was  recognised,  to  make  every  effort  to 
deliver  him,  taking  care  to  inform  the  General 
immediately. 

M.  de  Choiseul  had  received  17,000  livres  on 
leaving  Metz  for  Paris  on  the  9th  of  June ;  a 
second  sum  of  80,000  livres  was  now  remitted 
to  him  and  to  M.  de  Damas,  for  the  purpose 
of  sustaining  or  stimulating  the  fidelity  of 
their  men. 

The  day  was  wearing  through  on  the  21st, 
and  M.  de  Bouille,  who  was  exceedingly  anxious, 
received  no  news.  At  last  his  impatience  got 
the  better  of  him  ;  his  fears  grew  with  the 
darkness.  He  mounted  his  horse,  rode  away 
from  Stenay  accompanied  by  a  few  officers, 
and  advanced  to  the  gates  of  Dun,  but  did  not 


158  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

venture  to  enter,  fearing  to  agitate  the  people 
by  his  presence.  There  he  waited,  perplexed 
and  uneasy  :  the  safety  of  the  royal  family 
was  not  his  only  care ;  he  well  knew  all  that  he 
was  personally  risking  in  an  adventure  which 
must  compromise  him  terribly  if  it  should  fail. 
Every  sound  made  him  start ;  was  it  the  berline 
arriving,  and  bringing,  with  the  King,  the  cer- 
tainty that  he  (Bouille)  had  really  won  the 
marshal's  baton  which  had  been  sent  to  him 
some  days  previously  by  the  hands  of  Leonard, 
the  Queen's  hairdresser — a  singular  messenger  ? 
Or  was  it  Choiseul,  or  the  body-guard  who  was 
to  be  sent  to  announce  to  him  that  the  flight 
had  failed,  and  that  he  would  have  barely  time 
to  secure  his  personal  safety  ? 

Meanwhile,  the  carriages  which  contained  the 
royal  family  and  their  suite  were  advancing 
towards  Varennes ;  but  the  end  of  the  journey 
had  yet  to  be  reached,  and  although  the  dan- 
ger seemed  to  lessen  as  the  distance  between  the 
fugitives  and  Paris  was  increased,  it  still  existed. 

It  was  a  miracle  that  the  carriages  had  ever 
travelled  so  far,  for  it  must  be  owned  that 
never  had  flight  been  arranged  with  more 
devoted  zeal  and  less  judgment.  Since  the 
details  of  these  events  have  become  known,  our 
wonder  is  how  the  fugitives  were  able  to  get 
out  of  the  Tuileries,  to  pass  the  gates  of  Paris, 
and  so  nearly  to  gain  the  frontier. 

The  preparations  made  in  Paris  ought  to 
have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Munici- 
pality, the  National  Guard,  and  the  police.  It 
was  like  an  escape  in  a  comic  opera. 


THE  BERLINS  159 

In  tlie  first  place,  there  was  tlie  singular  idea 
of  having  a  special  carriage,  a  huge  berline, 
built  for  the  occasion.  That  such  a  vehicle 
was  in  course  of  construction  could  not  be  kept 
secret,  and  its  imposing  and  uncommon  bulk 
could  not  fail  to  attract  the  attention  of  all 
who  saw  it  in  motion.  Bouille  had  proposed 
that  two  small  English  post-chaises,  of  a  light 
and  convenient  kind,  frequently  used  for  post- 
ing-journeys, should  be  employed;  but  his 
advice  was  not  taken,  and  a  certain  Mrs.  Sulli- 
van, who  was  friendly  to  the  royal  family,  had 
been  employed  to  procure  the  desired  vehicle. 
Representing  herself  to  be  Baroness  Korff,  a 
Eussian  lady  of  rank,  she  ordered  a  berline, 
to  accommodate  nine  persons  easily,  six  inside 
and  three  upon  the  box,  from  Jean  Louis,  a 
coach-builder.  It  was  no  light  matter  to  build 
such  a  vehicle;  it  took  time,  and  as  it  was 
important  to  have  this  unwieldy  means  of 
flight  always  at  hand.  Baroness  Korff  was  per- 
petually at  the  coach-builder's  yard,  pressing 
him  with  entreaties  to  hurry  on  his  work- 
men. 

At  last,  the  berline  was  ready  for  the 
road  on  the  12th  of  March.  On  the  26th, 
Jean  Louis,  who  had  been  at  heavy  expense, 
sent  in  his  bill,  which  amounted  to  5944 
livres.  The  King  immediately  sent  him  2600 
livres  on  account,  by  the  pretended  Baroness 
Korff. 

The  final  touches  were  given,  and  the  machine 
was  worth  the  price,  if  we  are  to  believe  the 
description  of  it,   compiled   from   the   bill,  by 


i6o  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Eugene  Bimbenefc,  formerly  Clerk  of  the  Court 
of  Orleans : — 

"This  must  have  been  a  handsome  travel- 
ling-carriage, for  5944  livres  represented  a 
very  important  sum  in  1791  ;  it  was  a  com- 
bination of  the  solid  and  the  rich.  In  the 
interior,  luxurious  decorations  and  skilful  de- 
vices hid  the  provision  made  for  the  material 
necessities  of  life.  The  net  of  the  imperial 
was  adorned  with  silken  cords  and  tassels ; 
portable  pockets  were  hung  on  the  carriage 
doors,  to  contain  the  articles  usually  required 
in  travelling ;  small  bolsters  covered  with  taffety 
and  morocco  leather  supported  the  travellers 
on  either  side ;  the  cushions  on  which  they  sat 
covered  the  indispensable  utensils,  which  were 
made  of  varnished  leather.  A  cooking  appa- 
ratus had  been  contrived ;  lamps  with  reflectors 
shone  in  front,  although  the  nights  were  so 
short  that  there  was  hardly  any  darkness  at 
all ;  two  stout  tarpaulins  covered  the  imperial ; 
the  carriage  was  also  provided  with  a  skid, 
an  axle-strap,  and  two  iron-shod  forks  to  steady 
it  on  the  hill-sides. 

"  At  the  back  was  a  canteen,  in  leather,  to 
hold  eight  bottles  of  wine.  Underneath  the 
coachman's  seat,  which  had  a  knee-covering 
and  leathern  pockets,  there  was  a  tool -bag 
containing  all  the  implements  that  might  be 
required  in  case  of  accidents." 

The  berline  was  delivered  by  the  coach  maker 
early  in  June,  and  taken  to  Count  Fersen's 
private  residence  in  the  Rue  du  Bac.  The 
Count,  thinking   it  well   to  make    sure  of  the 


IMPRUDENCE  i6i 

strength  of  the  heavy  machine,  on  which  the 
safety  of  so  many  persons  was  to  depend, 
had  six  strong  horses  harnessed  to  it,  and 
drove  along  the  Vincennes  road  at  their  full 
speed.  As  luck  would  have  it,  he  met 
the  Due  d' Orleans  driving  with  Mme.  de 
BufFon ;  he  recognised  Fersen,  and  called 
out — 

"  Are  you  mad,  my  dear  Count  ?  You  are 
likely  to  break  your  neck  at  that  game." 

"  I  don't  want  my  carriage  to  break  down 
on  the  road,"  answered  Fersen,  stopping  his 
horses. 

"  Why  have  you  got  such  a  big  one  ?  Is  it 
to  carry  away  a  whole  opera  chorus  ?  " 

"  No,  Monseigneur,  I  leave  you  the  chorus." 

"  Adieu,  a  good  journey  to  you." 

And  they  parted. 

Fersen  w^as  well  aware  of  the  Duke's  enmity 
to  his  cousin.  At  the  first  news  of  the  depar- 
ture of  the  royal  family,  the  Duke  would  recall 
his  meeting  with  Fersen,  and  knowing  the 
relations  between  the  Count  and  the  Court, 
he  might  instantly  give  a  description  of  the 
carriage  in  which  the  fugitives  had  escaped. 
The  Due  d'Orleans  did  nothing  of  the  kind, 
but  that  fact  did  not  palliate  Fersen's  im- 
prudence in  showing  himself  in  public  after 
such  a  fashion. 

Nor  was  this  his  only  rash  proceeding.  The 
berline  remained  in  the  courtyard  of  Count 
Fersen's  hotel,  where  every  passer-by  could 
see  it,  although  the  coach-builder,  who  feared 
that  it  would  be  injured,  urged  that  it  ought 


1 62  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

to  be  placed  under  shelter.  Not  until  some 
days  later  was  it  removed,  ostensibly  to  the 
abode  of  the  persons  about  to  start  for  Eussia, 
but  in  reality  to  the  abode  of  Colonel  Crawford, 
an  Englishman,  who  lived  in  the  Kue  de  Clichy 
at  the  other  end  of  Paris. 

Fersen  kept  the  Queen  informed  of  all  that 
he  was  doing ;  he  had  found  means  of  getting 
into  the  Tuileries  without  being  seen  by  the 
National  Guards.  This  was  not  an  easy  thing 
to  do,  for  the  chateau  was  already  strictly 
watched. 

In  the  daytime  there  was  some  disguise  about 
the  precautions  ;  for  instance,  so  soon  as  the 
King,  the  Queen,  or  Madame  Elizabeth  came 
out,  the  National  Guards  would  surround  them, 
as  though  to  form  an  escort  and  do  them  honour  ; 
but  at  night  the  escort  was  changed  into  a  squad 
of  gaolers.  The  doors  of  the  bed-chambers  were 
carefully  secured,  the  soldiers  placed  their  pallets 
across  the  threshold  and  slept  there.  Most  of 
the  persons  attached  to  the  Eang's  household 
were  subjected  to  similar  treatment,  and  it  would 
not  do  to  make  any  effort  to  avoid  it. 

M.  de  Duras,  first  gentleman  of  the  bed- 
chamber to  the  King,  having  asked  Lafayette 
one  day  whether  it  was  by  his  orders  that  ten  or 
twelve  men  were  stationed  before  his  (Duras') 
door,  received  the  following  stern  reply  : — 

"  Yes,  sir,  and  if  it  were  necessary  I  should 
put  one  in  your  bed." 

Measures  had  now  to  be  taken  for  the  out- 
witting of  this  watch,  so  that  the  attempt  to 
escape  might  not  be  frustrated  at  the  outset. 


LOCKSMITH  LOUIS  IS  USEFUL     163 

For  the  first  time  Louis  XVI.  found  an  oppor- 
tunity of  turning  his  mechanical  skill  to  good 
use.  In  the  month  of  January,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  trustworthy  persons,  he  had  constructed 
"  in  the  wood  panelling  of  Madame  Elizabeth's 
apartment  a  door  artistically  made,  so  that  it 
was  difficult  to  perceive  its  existence,  unless  a 
close  search  were  made  for  it. 

"  There  was  also  another  door,  difficult  to 
discover,  at  one  end  of  Madame  Elizabeth's  bed. 
The  first  of  these  doors  had  been  prepared  for 
secret  interviews." 

The  means  of  getting  out  of  the  palace  being 
secured,  and  the  berline  being  ready,  the  next 
thing  was  to  procure  a  passport.  Here  again 
the  pretended  Baroness  Korff,  otherwise  Mrs. 
Sullivan,  intervened.  She  solicited  a  passport 
for  herself,  her  two  children,  their  governess, 
and  a  confidential  servant,  and  then,  as  she  did 
not  intend  to  remain  in  Paris,  where  she  would 
not  be  safe  if  her  share  in  the  flight  of  the  King 
were  discovered,  she  pretended  that  the  pass- 
port which  she  had  procured  had  been  burned 
by  accident,  and  M.  de  Montmorin,  Minister 
of  Foreign  Aff"airs,  sent  her  a  second,  by  order 
of  the  King.  Mrs.  Sullivan  left  Paris  on  the 
17th  June  with  Colonel  Crawford,  whose  mis- 
tress she  was. 

This  "  sentimental  Englishwoman "  and  the 
foreign  colonel,  in  addition  to  Count  Fersen, 
the  ladies  of  the  palace,  and  the  body-guards 
chosen  to  accompany  the  royal  family,  were 
the  only  persons  in  the  secret  of  the  con- 
templated   flight  ;    at    least    they    were    the 


1 64  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

only  persons  concerning  whom  we  can  be 
certain.  The  question  was  put,  and  is  still 
put,  as  to  whether  Lafayette  did  not  know 
of  it.  Various  little  incidents  lead  to  the 
belief  that  he  did.  Mrs.  Elliott  says  in  her 
Memoirs : — "  Every  one  knows  that  in  the 
summer  of  1791  the  King  and  the  royal  family 
made  an  attempt  at  flight.  I  do  not  doubt 
that  Lafayette  was  in  the  secret,  but  he  be- 
trayed it  afterwards  through  fear." 

This  solution  is  not  admissible.  If  Lafayette 
had  been  "in  the  secret,"  the  avowal  of  the 
fact  would  probably  have  been  found  either 
in  Bouille's  Memoires  or  in  Count  Fersen's 
papers,  as  those  persons  who  were  cognisant 
of  the  project  are  named  in  both.  Besides, 
it  is  hard  to  believe  that  Bouilld,  who  did  not 
like  his  cousin,  and  Fersen,  who  detested  the 
Commandant  of  the  National  Guard,  would  have 
consented  to  his  being  intrusted  with  so  for- 
midable a  secret. 

Without  being  an  accomplice,  Lafayette 
might  merely  have  discovered  the  secret  and 
"let  it  alone."  That  he  did  so  is  a  second 
theory,  more  plausible  than  the  first,  but  also 
very  unlikely.  What  interest  could  Lafayette 
have  had  in  the  departure  of  the  King?  The 
presence  of  the  unhappy  sovereign  confined  in 
the  Tuileries  did  not  interfere  with  his  ambi- 
tion. Did  his  pity  for  the  royal  family  consti- 
tute an  interest?  We  must  not  forget  that 
the  safe-keeping  of  that  royal  family  was  com- 
mitted to  him,  that  his  life  would  have  been 
risked  by  such    an    act,  and  that  the  popular 


FINAL  ARRANGEMENTS  165 

fuiy  took  him  quite  unawares  on  the  morning 
of  the  2ist  of  June.  To  accept  either  of  these 
hypotheses  would  be  to  do  too  much  honour 
to  the  person  of  whom  the  Comte  d'Allonville 
said,  not  unjustly,  that  he  was  "a  great  booby, 
as  white-livered  as  he  was  pale-faced."  Lafay- 
ette was  not  capable  of  either  so  much  heroism 
or  so  much  subtlety. 

Although  he  was  in  a  way  the  soul  of  the 
scheme,  Count  Fersen  was  not  to  have  a  place 
in  the  famous  berline.  "  I  shall  not  accompany 
the  King,  he  does  not  wish  it,"  he  wrote  to 
Bouille  on  the  29th  of  May.  Then  Mme.  de 
Tourzel  was  substituted  at  the  last  moment  for 
the  Marquis  d'Agoust,  a  gentleman  whom  Bouille 
had  most  particularly  recommended  to  Louis 
XVL  Mme.  de  Tourzel  was  to  occupy  a  seat 
in  the  berline  with  the  King,  the  Queen,  the 
Children  of  France,  and  Madame  Elizabeth.  On 
the  box-seat  were  to  be  M.  de  Valory,  M.  du 
Moustier,  and  M.  de  Maldent,  all  carrying  arms, 
which  Count  Fersen  had  actually  had  marked 
with  his  initials.  Two  waiting-maids,  Mme. 
Brunier  and  Mme.  de  Neuville,  were  to  follow 
in  a  cabriolet. 

The  body-guards  were  not  apprised  of  the 
facts  until  the  last  moment;  not  late  enough, 
however,  to  prevent  them  from  talking.  M. 
du  Moustier  could  not  refrain  from  telling  his 
mistress,  Mdlle.  Preville,  who  talked  about  the 
matter  with  her  servant.  The  latter,  proud  of 
the  important  news  thus  brought  to  her  know- 
ledge, carried  it  to  the  hall-porter  of  the  H6tel 
Poyen.     Mdlle.  Preville  also  apprised  her  sister, 


1 66  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Mme.  Thdogat.  M.  de  Valory  had  been  equally 
indiscreet.  After  all  tins,  is  it  surprising  that 
rumours  of  the  intended  flight  of  the  King 
were  in  circulation?  Fortunately  they  became 
vague  in  travelling  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and 
had  not  time  to  go  very  far. 

A  more  serious  danger  was  the  presence  of 
Mdlle.  Rocherette,  the  Dauphin's  waiting-woman, 
at  the  chateau.  She  was  suspected  of  being  a 
demagogue ;  but  was  she  really  of  the  "  de- 
magogic "  ?  She  was  the  mistress  of  Gouvion, 
Lafayette's  aide-de-camp,  and  "  she  told  him 
everything."  This  was  quite  enough  to  make 
her  an  object  of  distrust,  and  as  it  was  im- 
possible to  conceal  anything  from  her  while  she 
was  on  duty,  the  departure  had  to  be  postponed 
for  twenty-four  hours. 

During  the  last  days.  Count  Fersen,  availing 
himself  of  the  means  he  had  discovered  for 
evading  the  vigilance  of  the  patriots  of  the 
National  Guard,  had  a  great  number  of  inter- 
views with  the  King  or  the  Queen. 

On  Thursday,  the  i6th  of  June,  at  half-past 
nine,  he  went  to  the  palace,  and  took  to  Marie 
Antoinette  the  plain  and  humble  garments  which 
were  to  form  the  disguise  of  the  royal  family. 
This  matter  was  effected  in  the  greatest  secrecy. 
"They  suspect  nothing  here  or  in  town,"  he 
writes  in  his  journal.  On  the  17th  he  went  so 
far  as  Bondy,  in  order  to  reconnoitre  the  route, 
and  came  back  by  Bourget.  On  Saturday,  the 
18th,  he  returned,  and  was  with  Marie  Antoi- 
nette from  two  o'clock  until  half-past  six.  The 
Queen  informed  him  that  she  had  received  a 


^vtanc  dn/otRCnc 


THE  LAST  VISIT  167 

letter  from  her  brother,  which  confirmed  all  the 
orders  given  for  the  manifestation  on  the  fron- 
tier. On  the  19th,  Sunday,  Fersen  went  again 
to  the  chateau,  and  remained  from  eleven  o'clock 
until  midnight.  The  King  handed  over  to  him 
eight  hundred  livres  and  the  seals. 

On  the  following  day,  at  half-past  seven  in 
the  morning,  he  went  to  the  coach-builder's  to 
see  about  the  post-chaise  which  was  to  be  occu- 
pied by  Mme.  Brunier  and  Mme.  de  Neuville. 
He  returned  to  his  hotel  in  that  vehicle,  and 
dismissed  the  coachman  who  had  driven  it,  with 
instructions  to  return  at  noon  precisely.  At 
that  hour  he  had  horses  put  to  his  carriage, 
and  drove  to  the  Swedish  Embassy.  His  visit, 
of  only  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  duration,  was  a 
precaution  taken  against  M.  de  Stael,  to  dispel 
his  suspicions,  if  he  had  any. 

Having  returned  home,  he  waited  a  few  hours, 
then  ordered  his  carriage  to  take  him  to  the 
sitting  of  the  National  Assembly.  He  had  no 
intention  of  going  there,  for  he  alighted  at  the 
Pont-Eoyal,  and  entered  the  garden  of  the 
Tuileries.  Thus  he  had  contrived  the  means  of 
seeing  the  King  and  Queen  once  more. 

They  were  expecting  him,  and  in  that  last 
interview  the  respective  characters  of  the  three 
personages  were  revealed.  Marie  Antoinette, 
full  of  trouble  and  emotion  at  the  approach  of 
the  hour  of  departure,  full  of  fear  for  her 
children,  her  friends,  herself,  was  in  a  state  of 
nervous  excitement  and  wept  profusely.  Louis 
XVI.,  as  passive  as  usual,  listened  to  Count 
Fersen,  who  was  cool  and  resolute. 


1 68  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  Count  reminded  the  royal  couple  of  the 
dangers  which  they  were  about  to  incur ;  but 
the  King  and  Queen  with  one  accord  answered 
him  that  "  there  could  be  no  hesitation,  and 
that  they  must  go." 

For  the  last  time  the  place  of  meeting,  the 
hour,  and  the  order  of  departure  were  discussed 
and  settled ;  and  as  the  success  of  the  flight 
still  remained  doubtful,  notwithstanding  the 
precautions  that  had  been  taken,  it  was 
decided  that  Count  Fersen  should  proceed  to 
Brussels,  and  that  should  they  be  stopped,  he 
was  at  once  to  act  for  them  with  the  other 
sovereigns. 

Time  was  flying.  It  was  necessary  that  the 
Queen  should  go  to  the  promenade  with  her 
children,  according  to  custom,  so  that  she 
might  be  seen  there.  At  about  six  o'clock 
Fersen  took  leave  and  withdrew. 

"  Monsieur  de  Fersen,"  said  the  King  earnestly, 
"  whatsoever  may  happen  to  me,  I  will  not 
forget  what  you  are  doing  for  me." 

The  Queen's  tears  spoke  no  less  plainly  to 
Fersen's  heart.  Pie  regained  his  carriage  and 
proceeded  to  the  Rue  de  Clichy  to  inspect  the 
berline  and  make  sure  that  it  was  in  readi- 
ness. 

At  eight  he  wrote  a  few  words  to  the  Queen 
on  the  subject  of  an  alteration  in  the  place  of 
meeting  first  appointed  for  the  waiting-women. 
He  took  the  note  to  the  palace  himself,  and 
remarked  with  satisfaction  that  everything  was 
quiet  as  usual.  He  then  returned  home.  At 
this  same  hour  an  incident  had  occurred  at  his 


ALL  READY  169 

hotel  which  might  have  had  most  serious  conse- 
quences. He  had  directed  his  valet-de-chambre 
to  take  three  cases  to  the  Rue  de  Clichy,  and 
a  hackney-coach  was  engaged  for  the  purpose. 
The  driver  witnessed  a  spectacle  on  entering  the 
courtyard  of  the  hotel  which  naturally  astonished 
him.  Two  servants  were  engaged  in  loading 
seven  pairs  of  double-barrelled  pistols,  and  w^ere 
casting  the  bullets  themselves.  They  asked 
the  driver  to  provide  himself  with  a  ladle,  and 
to  come  and  help  them.  At  that  moment  one  of 
the  pistols  unaccountably  went  off;  the  bullet 
passed  through  a  pane  of  glass,  and  narrowly 
escaped  killing  a  person  in  the  street.  The 
hackney -coachman,  wondering  at  these  prepara- 
tions, asked  for  what  purpose  so  many  pistols 
were  required.  Count  Fersen's  footman  ex- 
plained that  his  master,  who  was  in  the  service 
of  Russia,  was  about  to  return  to  that  insecure 
country,  and  the  pistols  would  be  necessary  on 
his  journey.  The  man  was  satisfied  with  this 
reply. 

Meanwhile  the  valet-de-chambre  brought 
various  parcels  down  from  the  upper  rooms, 
and  among  others  an  English  saddle  and  bridle ; 
all  these  things  were  placed  in  the  hackney- 
coach,  and  transferred  to  the  berline  by  the 
valet  on  arriving  at  the  Rue  de  Clichy.  He 
requested  the  driver  to  open  one  of  the  cases, 
which  were  made  of  sheet  iron,  and  about  ten 
inches  square.  The  case  that  was  opened  con- 
tained plate ;  a  silver  goblet  was  added  to  the 
contents,  and  all  three  were  placed  in  the  huge 
Another  box  was  shaped  like  a  dress- 


I70  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

ing-case ;  and  as  tlie  smallest  details  of  the 
royal  flight  are  interesting,  it  may  be  added 
that  it  contained  eatables,  and  especially  a  large 
piece  of  hoeuf  a  la  mode.  Count  Fersen's  fore- 
thought extended  to  the  smallest  things. 

Towards  evening  two  body-guards,  dressed 
as  couriers,  went  to  his  h6tel.  He  directed 
them  to  proceed  with  his  coachman,  Balthazar 
Sapel,  to  the  Rue  de  Clichy,  and  to  take 
the  berline  from  thence  to  the  new  Barriere 
du  Faubourg  Saint  -  Martin.  The  coachman 
being  struck  with  the  appearance  of  the  car- 
riage, remarked  upon  it,  and  taking  his  two 
companions  for  persons  of  his  own  condition, 
he  said,  "  Who  are  your  comrades,  mates  ? 
They  seem  to  be  very  rich  ! "  "  Comrade,  you 
will  learn  that,"  they  replied.  This  was  all  he 
could  get  out  of  them. 

The  three  arrived  at  the  Porte  Saint-Martin 
a  little  after  midnight.  During  this  time  Count 
Fersen,  who  was  not  recognisable  in  the  costume 
of  a  hackney-coachman,  placed  the  post-chaise 
intended  for  the  attendants  on  the  quay, 
opposite  to  the  Poitevin  Baths.  At  a  quarter- 
past  ten  he  proceeded  with  another  carriage  to 
the  Cour  des  Princes,  and  there  he  waited  for 
the  fugitives,  who  ought  to  have  been  leaving 
the  palace  at  that  moment. 

Nothing  unusual  had  occurred  at  the  chateau 
during  the  evening.  The  children  had  been 
put  to  bed  at  the  customary  hour.  The  King 
and  Queen  had  retired  afterwards,  but  no 
sooner  had  their  personal  attendants  been  dis- 
missed  than   all   arose.     The   King  put   on   a 


THE  FLIGHT  171 

plain  coat,  so  as  to  bear  out  the  character  of 
a  valet-de-chambre  assigned  to  him  in  the 
passport  of  Baroness  Korff.  The  Queen  and 
Madame  Elizabeth  also  put  on  the  attire  of 
waiting-women.  Madame  Eoyale  was  quickly 
dressed,  but  the  little  Dauphin,  being  aroused 
out  of  his  first  sleep,  did  not  understand  what 
was  happening,  and  why  he  should  have  to  wear 
a  girl's  frock.  "  Are  we  going  to  act  a  play  ? " 
he  asked.  Madame  Brunier  and  Madame  de 
Neuville  were  there.  All  except  the  King  and 
Madame  Elizabeth  assembled  in  a  dressing- 
closet,  w^here  Madame  de  Tourzel  joined  them. 
Then  the  Queen  herself  opened  the  door,  and, 
taking  her  two  children  by  the  hand,  she  pre- 
ceded the  three  w^omen  down  a  staircase  and 
along  a  corridor  which  communicated  with  one 
of  the  doors  of  the  unoccupied  apartment  of 
M.  de  Villequier,  situated  on  the  entresol.  While 
waiting  for  the  opening  of  this  door,  Madame 
de  Neuville  sat  down  on  the  ground  and  rested 
the  head  of  the  poor  little  Dauphin,  who  was 
sound  asleep,  on  her  knees. 

It  had  been  decided  that  the  party  should 
enter  the  Cour  des  Princes  in  separate  groups, 
so  as  to  avoid  attention.  The  door  being  opened, 
the  children  were  sent  on  in  front  with  Madame 
de  Tourzel.  They  reached  the  carriage  without 
any  difficulty ;  it  was  then  a  quarter  -  past 
eleven.  At  that  moment  Lafayette  passed  twice 
through  the  court,  vehemently  but  unnecessarily 
alarming  the  fugitives,  for  he  saw  nothing,  and 
so  the  flight  was  actually  accomplished  under 
his    eyes.      At   a    quarter   to   twelve   Madame 


172  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Elizabeth  arrived ;  the  King  followed  her 
closely ;  the  Queen  only  lingered.  The  small 
party  began  to  get  frightened — time  was  pass- 
ing. At  length  she  appeared.  She  also  had 
met  Lafayette's  carriage,  and  had  shrunk  into  a 
recess  to  avoid  being  seen.  This  incident  had 
somewhat  disturbed  her ;  and  the  body-guard 
who  accompanied  her  being  unable  to  find  his 
way — the  quarter  was  at  that  time  encum- 
bered with  houses  and  traversed  by  narrow 
dark  streets — they  had  gone  astray.  Midnight 
struck  before  Madame  Brunier  and  Madame  de 
Neuville,  who  were  on  foot,  reached  the  car- 
riage intended  for  them. 

The  King,  the  Queen,  Madame  Elizabeth, 
the  children,  Madame  de  Tourzel  and  the  body- 
guard got  into  the  carriage,  Fersen  driving, 
and  they  started  at  speed.  They  reached  the 
Pont- Saint-Martin  just  as  day  began  to  break. 
The  berline  was  there ;  Fersen  drew  up  so 
that  the  doors  of  the  two  carriages  were  side 
by  side,  and  the  travellers  passed  from  one 
to  the  other  without  alighting.  He  returned 
to  the  first  carriage,  took  the  horses  by  their 
bits  and  forced  them  back  into  tlie  ditch, 
throwing  one  of  them  down ;  so  that  the  aban- 
donment of  the  vehicle  might  appear  to 
have  been  caused  by  an  accident.  He  then 
got  up  on  the  coach-box  of  the  berline,  while 
M.  de  Maldent  took  his  seat  behind,  said  to 
the  coachman,  Balthazar  Sapel,  who  held  the 
reins,  "Go  on !  quick !  drive  quick ! "  and 
taking  the  whip,  he  cracked  it  incessantly  to 
excite  the  horses. 


PAETING 


173 


The  time  that  had  been  lost  in  waiting  for 
the  Queen,  and  the  increasing  light,  augmented 
the  danger ;  they  were  still  so  near  Paris. 
Fersen  was  frantically  anxious  to  get  his 
precious  charge  into  safety.  He  reproached 
his  coachman,  *'  Come,  come,  Balthazar,  your 
horses  are  no  good ;  get  on,  get  on ;  they  will 
have  time  to  rest  when  we  get  to  the  regiment." 
Balthazar  Sapel,  who  believed  that  his  master 
was  returning  to  Varennes  to  rejoin  his  regiment 
(Royal  Suedois),  obeyed  him  as  best  he  could, 
and  in  less  than  half-an-hour  they  reached  Bondy. 

A  relay  of  six  horses  was  in  readiness.  Count 
Fersen  and  his  coachman  alighted  from  the 
carriage ;  M.  de  Maldent  took  the  front  seat 
with  Valory  and  Du  Moustier;  the  postilions 
started  their  horses  and  cracked  their  whips, 
the  berline  rolled  away,  carrying  the  royal 
family  towards  the  unknown. 

Count  Fersen  watched  them  out  of  sight. 
The  King  did  not  wish  that  he  should  accom- 
pany them,  because  he  would  not  endanger  a 
foreigner  in  the  service  of  France,  and  also 
because  the  Count's  presence  might  be  compro- 
mising to  Louis  himself 

At  any  rate,  the  separation  was  not  to  last 
long.  At  that  moment  the  chance  of  success 
seemed  great.  In  two  days  they  would  meet, 
far  from  their  enemies,  far  from  the  populace 
of  Paris,  in  safety.  The  Count  desired  this 
too  strongly  to  believe  in  it  completely ;  and 
the  compulsory  ignorance  in  which  he  was  left, 
the  mere  absence  of  news,  was  extremely  trying 
to  him. 


174  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

Immediately  on  his  arrival  at  Mons,  on  the 
Tuesday  morning,  he  wrote  a  note  to  his  father, 
in  which  he  betrays  his  anxiety  : — 

"Moma,  June  22nd, 
9  six  in  the  morning. 

"  I  have  this  instant  arrived  here,  my  dear 
father.  The  King  and  all  the  family  got  out 
of  Paris  safely  on  the  20th  at  midnight.  I 
drove  them  to  the  first  post :  may  God  grant 
that  the  rest  of  their  journey  may  be  equally 
fortunate.  I  shall  now  continue  my  route  along 
the  frontier  to  join  the  King  at  Montmedy,  if 
he  be  happy  enough  to  arrive  there." 

In  these  dubious  words  we  read  the  pre- 
sentiment of  a  loving  heart  for  her  he  loved  ; 
for  although  his  hand  wrote  "the  Eang,"  his 
heart  named  the  Queen.  Neither  one  nor  the 
other  had  been  so  happy  as  to  arrive  at  the 
goal  of  their  journey,  and  at  the  very  hour 
when  Count  Fersen  was  still  trying  to  hope, 
all  was  lost.  His  next  meeting  with  the  victim 
whom  he  had  attempted  to  tear  from  the  grasp 
of  the  Eevolution  was  to  take  place  under 
terrible  circumstances. 

While  he  was  advancing  towards  Mons  by 
the  nearer  route,  the  berline  had  taken  that 
of  Chalons.  At  Claye  the  royal  party  was 
joined  by  Madame  Brunier  and  Madame  de 
Neuville,  and  the  two  carriages  proceeded  at 
a  fair  pace.  The  zeal  of  the  postilions  was 
stimulated  by  excessive  gratuities.  M.  de 
Valory,  slipping  his  arm  under  the  glass   be- 


TOO  LIBERAL  175 

neath  the  box-seat,  took  liandfuls  of  money 
out  of  a  bag  which  hung  inside  the  vehicle. 
This  generosity  had  the  desired  effect,  but 
ifc  also  had  a  second,  which  was  dangerous. 
"Who  can  this  great  personage  be,  who  pays 
so  well?"  said  the  postilions.*"  "They  have 
given  us  four  livres  and  ten  sous  pour-boire ! " 
It  was  dangerous  to  excite  any  kind  of  curi- 
osity, but  they  did  not  think  of  this.  The 
travellers  were  so  delighted  that  they  had  not 
been  stopped,  and  that  they  had  escaped  from 
Paris,  their  dreadful  prison,  that  they  were 
too  confident.  The  King  talked  in  what  for 
him  was  a  jesting  fashion.  "  You  may  be 
very  sure  that  once  I  get  into  the  saddle,  I 
shall  be  very  different  from  what  you  have 
seen  me  up  to  the  present !  Lafayette  does 
not  know  what  to  do  with  himself  just  now." 

Nevertheless,  a  man  driving  a  cart  in  a  little 
village  through  which  they  passed  recognised 
him.  "  That  is  the  King,"  said  he  to  the 
body  -  guards,  who  were  passing  for  couriers. 
The  latter  denied  the  fact.  "  But  it  is  the  King 
and  the  Queen,"  the  man  insisted ;  "I  have 
seen  them  several  times  at  Versailles,"  he 
repeated. 

They  started  again  very  quickly.  This 
incident  ought  to  have  convinced  the  King 
that  the  greatest  prudence  was  still  necessary, 
but  it  had  no  effect.  When  the  road  was 
hilly,  he  got  out  and  followed  the  berline. 
At  the  posts  he  mixed  with  the  people  who 
were  standing  about  and  looking  at  the  fine 
berline ;    he    talked    to   the   peasants,   convers- 


176  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

ing  with  them  on  the  state  of  the  crops, 
and  was  glad  to  keep  out  of  the  carriage, 
giving  way  to  his  dislike  of  any  kind  of 
physical  restraint. 

An  accident  to  the  carriage  occurred ;  the 
travellers  had  to  stay  for  more  than  an  hour 
at  Montmirail,  between  Meaux  and  Chalons. 
This  circumstance,  added  to  the  King's  obsti- 
nacy in  insisting  on  walking  up  the  hills, 
prolonged  the  journey  for  three  hours  more 
than  had  been  calculated,  and  it  also  led  to 
confusion  in  the  instructions  which  had  been 
given  to  the  officers  in  command  of  the  de- 
tachments, and  left  time  for  the  presence  of 
the  troops  to  create  a  ferment  among  the 
people. 

At  Chalons  the  fugitives  incurred  a  great 
risk.  The  King  was  again  recognised.  His 
persistence  in  showing  himself,  and  in  alight- 
ing during  the  change  of  horses,  exposed  him 
seriously,  and  on  these  occasions  it  was  doubly 
to  be  regretted  that  the  Marquis  d'Agoust  did 
not  occupy  the  place  of  Madame  de  Tourzel. 
He  alone  would  have  had  sufficient  authority 
to  restrain  the  imprudence  of  the  unfortunate 
monarch. 

One  of  the  members  of  the  municipality  of 
Chalons,  who  was  standing  close  to  the  carriage, 
entertained  no  doubt  whatever  that  its  occupants 
were  the  royal  family,  but,  moved  by  respect 
for  such  illustrious  misfortune,  he  did  not  think 
of  betraying  them  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  was  help- 
ing to  harness  the  horses  in  order  to  abridge  the 
delay,  when  a  workman   approached   him  and 


THE  KING  EECOGNISED  177 

said  in  a  low  voice,  *'  But  that  is  the  King ; 
I  recognise  him."  He  tried  to  deny  the  fact, 
the  other  maintained  it  more  emphatically.  He 
then  risked  all,  for  all.  "  Yes,"  he  answered ; 
"it  is  the  King ;  but  if  you  say  so,  the  greatest 
misfortunes  may  occur,  and  upon  you  the  respon- 
sibility will  fall."  The  tone  in  which  these  w^ords 
were  pronounced  so  impressed  the  workman,  that 
he  withdrew  without  having  revealed  his  dis- 
covery. This  incident  shows  how  slight  was 
the  thread  on  which  the  safety  of  the  travellers 
depended  ;  and  yet  at  that  moment  they  had 
almost  ceased  to  fear  ! 

They  were  nearing  that  portion  of  their  jour- 
ney which  was  under  the  command  of  M.  de 
Bouille,  and  were  soon  to  meet  the  detachment 
at  the  place  arranged.  As  they  approached  this 
spot,  the  confidence  of  the  royal  family  became 
complete ;  they  felt  that  the  sight  of  the  first 
dragoon  would  be  the  signal  of  their  deliver- 
ance. 

Great  was  their  delusion,  and  happy  would  it 
have  been  for  the  fugitives  if  action  had  been 
taken  upon  the  wise  and  prudent  counsel  of 
Count  Fersen,  that  "  the  best  protection  was 
to  take  none,"  and  that  "  the  King  should  pass 
quite  simply." 

The  occurrences  at  Pont-Sommevesle  were  a 
warning,  but  it  came  too  late.  Bouille  had  sent 
fifty  hussars,  under  the  joint  command  of  the 
young  Due  de  Choiseul  and  Baron  de  Goguelat, 
a  brave  and  daring  Nivernois,  who  was  devoted 
to  their  Majesties,  and  fully  informed  of  the 
details  of  the  contemplated  flight. 


178  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  qUEEN 

The  presence  of  tliese  soldiers  would  at  any 
time  have  caused  some  commotion  among  the 
inhabitants,  but  it  was  most  unfortunate  under 
the  particular  circumstances.  The  people  in  the 
villages  had  refused  to  pay  taxes,  and  were 
threatened  with  compulsory  measures.  They 
thought  that  the  hussars  had  been  sent  for  this 
purpose,  and  immediately  assembled  and  rung 
the  alarm-bell  to  apprise  their  neighbours  and 
call  them  to  their  help.  Curiosity  also  being 
roused,  the  little  troop  was  surrounded  ;  the  men 
and  their  officers  were  placed  in  a  difficult  posi- 
tion. In  vain  did  they  say  that  they  were  sent 
to  Pont-Sommevesle  to  wait  for  and  escort  a 
treasure ;  they  were  only  half-believed  or  not 
believed  at  all.  In  these  troublous  times,  when 
suspicion  was  sown  broadcast  in  the  ignorant 
masses  by  demagogues,  and  the  hardly  emanci- 
pated population  dreaded  everything  at  the 
hands  of  their  former  masters,  the  slightest 
event  produced  a  tumult. 

What  could  the  little  troop  do  against  the 
hundreds  of  peasants  swarming  round  them, 
some  armed  with  muskets,  others  with  stones, 
and  others  with  sticks,  and  becoming  more 
inimical  every  moment  ?  It  was  useless  to  think 
of  dispersing  the  crowd  by  force.  This  could 
not  have  been  done  even  supposing  the  fifty 
hussars  would  have  implicitly  obeyed  their 
officers.  On  the  other  hand,  the  latter  were 
extremely  anxious ;  they  had  been  told  that 
the  berline  would  pass  at  about  two  o'clock ; 
it  was  now  half-past  five,  and  there  was  no 
appearance  of  the  carriage.      No   doubt   there 


PERPLEXITY.  179 

had  been  a  counter-order  on  the  part  of  the 
King,  or  else  the  fugitives  had  been  stopped 
on  their  way.  What  was  occurring  at  Pont- 
Sommevesle  rendered  the  latter  conjecture 
very  probable.  The  Due  de  Choiseul  and 
Goguelat  consulted  together.  If  they  remained, 
they  could  not  be  useful  in  any  way  to  the 
security  of  the  royal  family  in  case  they  should 
arrive  at  this  place.  But  would  they  arrive? 
The  thinsj  was  becomino-  more  and  more  doubt- 
ful.  The  officers  resolved  to  withdraw,  and 
as  they  had  been  very  ill  received  at  Saint- 
Menehould,  they  decided  upon  returning  to 
Varennes,  and  proceeding  to  Stenay  by  the 
cross-roads. 

They  have  been  much  blamed  for  this  de- 
cision, and  the  majority  of  those  who  had 
reason  to  reproach  themselves  for  some  negli- 
gence or  some  fault  in  the  course  of  the 
adventure  were  the  first  to  condemn  them ; 
but  in  this  they  were  wrong ;  from  every  point 
of  view,  the  conduct  of  Choiseul  and  Goguelat 
was  correct.  In  the  first  place,  as  for  disregard 
of  the  orders  they  had  received,  the  officers 
were  exculpated  by  the  fact  that  after  three 
hours  and  a  half  of  waiting  the  royal  carriage 
did  not  appear.  In  the  second  place,  being 
incapable,  on  account  of  their  small  number,  of 
resisting  the  opposition  which  was  evidently 
intended,  they  constituted  a  danger  to  the  fugi- 
tives, and  not  a  resource.  Finally,  they  may 
claim  in  their  justification  that  events  proved 
them  in  the  right.  No  sooner  had  the  little 
troop   disappeared   than    the   tumult   subsided. 


i8o  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  peasants,  content  with  having  intimidated 
the  soldiers  who  had  come  to  molest  them, 
dispersed,  and  quiet  was  so  completely  re- 
established, that  when  the  berline  arrived,  an 
hour  later,  only  a  few  curious  loiterers  noticed 
it,  and,  to  use  Fersen's  phrase,  "  the  King 
passed  quite  simply." 

Although  this  point  had  been  happily  cleared, 
the  travellers  were  exceedingly  puzzled  by 
not  seeing  either  Choiseul  or  Goguelat,  and 
by  receiving  no  explanation  of  their  absence. 
At  the  following  relay  at  Orbeval,  all  passed 
off  quietly,  and  they  recovered  a  little  of 
the  serenity  and  confidence  which  had  been 
temporarily  disturbed.  At  last  they  were  ap- 
proaching Saint-Menehould ;  there  they  hoped 
they  should  see  the  detachment  sent  by 
Bouille.  They  saw  nobody.  The  King  was 
very  uneasy,  put  his  head  several  times  out 
of  the  window,  without  reflecting  that  the 
movement  might  attract  attention,  and  that 
some  eyes  in  the  crowd  might  be  too  sharp- 
sighted. 

At  that  moment,  the  son  of  the  post- 
master, who  had  not  lost  sight  of  the  travellers, 
although  he  was  superintending  the  harnessing 
of  the  horses,  whispered  a  few  words  in  the 
ear  of  a  soldierly-looking  man,  who  was  there 
as  a  spectator ;  then  taking  his  postilions  apart, 
he  desired  them,  assigning  various  reasons,  "not 
to  hurry  themselves."  After  this  he  quickly 
disappeared. 

During  this  time  an  officer  drew  near  the 
carriage,  and  managing  so  as  not  to  be  heard 


TUMULT  AT  SAINT-MENEHOULD  i8i 

by  the  crowd,  he  rapidly  uttered  a  few  words  tc 
Mme.  de  Tourzel.  "  Your  measures  are  ill  taken. 
Set  out,  hurry ;  you  are  lost  if  you  do  not 
hasten.  I  am  going  away  to  avoid  arousing 
suspicion."  This  was  M.  d'Andoins,  who  com- 
manded the  thirty  dragoons  sent  by  Count 
Damas. 

The  incidents  of  Pont-Sommevesle  were  to 
some  extent  repeated  at  Saint-Menehould.  No 
sooner  did  the  people  see  the  soldiers  coming 
than  they  rose  in  arms  to  meet  them,  and, 
amidst  increasing  tumult,  insisted  that  each 
dragoon  should  place  the  six  cartridges  with 
which  he  was  supplied  in  the  hands  of  the 
municipal  officers.  This  was  immediately  done, 
and  the  people  being  emboldened  by  the  con- 
cession, then  proceeded  to  demand  the  disarma- 
ment of  the  little  troop.  M.  d'Aoidoins  was 
indignant  at  this  fresh  exaction,  which,  how- 
ever, was  a  strictly  logical  one,  since  he  had 
yielded  to  the  first,  and  he  resolutely  refused 
to  submit  to  it.  The  crowd,  now  in  its  turn 
illogical,  did  not  insist,  but  actually  applauded 
the  refusal  of  the  commandant.  They  sur- 
rounded the  soldiers,  however,  and  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  making  them  dismount  and  retire 
into  a  sort  of  barrack,  where  they  were  shut  up 
without  protest  on  their  part. 

Notwithstanding  these  unfavourable  circum- 
stances, the  horses  were  changed  and  the 
carriage  started  without  any  difficulty.  The 
royal  family  was  already  far  on  the  road  to 
Varennes,  when  at  about  eleven  o'clock  official 
information  of  the  flight  of  the  King  arrived. 


1 82  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  auger  of  the  people  of  Saint-Menehould  at 
finding  themselves  thus  tricked  broke  out  with 
violence ;  the  patriots  were  indignant ;  every- 
body wanted  to  rush  after  the  fugitives  and 
arrest  them. 

Unnecessary  zeal !  Two  of  their  compatriots 
had  undertaken  that  task.  These  were  Drouet, 
the  son  of  the  postmaster,  and  his  companion, 
Guillaume,  formerly  a  soldier  in  the  Queen's 
Dragoons.  While  the  postilions,  mindful  of 
their  master's  orders,  were  proceeding  leisurely, 
Drouet  and  Guillaume  were  riding  at  full  speed 
to  Varennes  through  the  fields  and  the  woods, 
and  by  short  cuts  well  known  to  them,  with 
the  intention  of  outstripping  the  travellers  and 
arriving  before  them. 

And,  as  though  all  things  were  to  combine 
against  the  royal  family  on  that  fatal  day,  and 
to  neutralise  the  fidelity  and  devotion  that  had 
been  lavished  upon  them,  Drouet  and  Guillaume 
escaped  a  death  which  would  have  secured  the 
safety  of  their  illustrious  prey.  Among  the 
imprisoned  dragoons  was  a  quartermaster  who 
was  still  loyal  to  the  King.  Finding  that  some- 
thing of  a  grave  nature  was  happening,  he  had 
jumped  over  the  wall,  mixed  with  the  crowd, 
arrived  at  a  vague  notion  of  the  state  of  the 
case,  found  his  horse,  and  galloped  off  upon 
the  Varennes  road.  He  soon  perceived  two 
horsemen  ahead  of  him  and  pursued  them. 
"Who  were  they  ?  He  did  not  know.  If  these 
men  should  be  enemies  of  the  King !  At  that 
thought  he  drew  his  pistols  out  of  the  holsters, 
but  a  doubt  checked  his  hand.     Suppose  these 


UNCEKTAINTY  183 

men  were  faithful  servants  like  liimself,  and 
were  pushing  on  to  warn  the  King !  He  re- 
placed his  pistols.  Ten  times  over  he  did  the 
same  thing.  At  length,  at  a  turn  of  the  road, 
he  lost  sight  of  the  two  men,  and  his  courageous 
action  was  of  no  avail. 

The  travellers  had  been  made  very  uneasy 
by  the  warning  given  to  Madame  de  Tourzel. 
It  was,  however,  too  late  to  recede ;  besides, 
M.  de  Bouille  must  be  now  approaching  with 
a  strong  force ;  let  them  but  join  him  and  they 
would  be  in  safety.  At  half-past  nine  the 
berline  passed  through  Clermont.  M.  de  Damas, 
who  was  in  command  there,  had  not  been  more 
fortunate  than  the  other  officers  and  their 
detachments,  and  the  hostile  attitude  of  the 
population  had  been  too  much  for  the  courage 
or  the  fidelity  of  his  soldiers.  He  passed  along- 
side the  carriage  and  carelessly  asked  one  of 
the  body-guard  to  whom  it  belonged,  then  rode 
away,  having  hardly  heard  the  answer.  Mont- 
medy  was  from  thirteen  to  fourteen  leagues  off; 
this  thought  revived  the  hopes  of  the  travellers, 
the  more  so  that,  after  all,  notwithstanding 
delays  and  perils,  the  most  difficult  part  had 
been  cleared.  The  three  leagues  which  divided 
Clermont  from  Varennes  were  got  over  slowly, 
and  it  was  nearly  a  quarter  to  twelve  when  the 
travellers  arrived  at  the  latter  place. 

The  town  of  Varennes,  on  the  little  river  Aire, 
is  divided  into  two  distinct  quarters,  one  on 
each  bank,  united  by  a  bridge.  At  the  entry 
to  the  bridge  is  a  tower  built  over  an  archway, 
which  forms  a  dark  narrow  passage.     Baron  de 


1 84  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Goguelat,  knowing  tlie  configuration  of  the 
place,  had  taken  care  to  establish  his  relay  at 
the  far  end  of  the  town,  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Aire.  By  this  arrangement  the  carriage 
would  go  at  once  through  this  dangerous  passage, 
and  not  be  obliged  to  stop  for  a  change  of 
horses  until  it  had  reached  the  far  end  of 
the  town.  This  was  a  very  prudent  measure ; 
but  either  the  travellers  had  not  been  informed 
of  it,  or  they  had  forgotten  it,  for  they  stopped 
at  the  entrance  to  the  town.  No  relays  ;  every- 
thing was  silent  and  quiet.  The  travellers 
alighted,  endeavoured  to  make  inquiry,  roused 
some  of  the  inhabitants,  who  naturally  could 
give  them  no  information,  got  into  the  berline 
again  and  ordered  the  postilions  to  start ;  but 
the  latter  obeyed  reluctantly.  They  drew  near 
to  the  river,  the  carriage  was  about  to  pass 
under  the  archway,  when  all  of  a  sudden  the 
horses  were  stopped.  An  overturned  cart  barred 
the  way,  and  several  men  sprang  out  of  the 
darkness  and  surrounded  the  carriage.  One  of 
them,  coming  forward  and  announcing  himself 
as  the  Procureur  of  the  Commune,  demanded 
their  passports.  The  body-guards  stood  up  on 
their  seats  and  took  up  their  arms,  but  the 
King  ordered  his  defenders  not  to  defend  him. 
Madame  de  Tourzel  exhibited  the  false  passport 
of  "  Baroness  Korff,  proceeding  to  Frankfort  with 
her  two  children,  one  woman,  a  valet-de-chambre, 
and  three  men-servants." 

The  demand  was  only  a  pretext ;  the  Pro- 
cureur took  the  passport,  but  said  it  could  not 
be  vise  at  that  hour  ;  in  the  morning  he  would 


AERESTED  185 

see.  The  travellers,  who  knew  the  clanger 
of  this  delay,  urged  that  they  should  be 
allowed  to  pursue  their  journey.  They  were 
not  listened  to,  but  were  forced  to  alight,  and 
taken  into  the  house  of  the  Procureur  of  the 
Commune,  one  Sauce,  a  grocer.  Everything 
had  turned  against  them ;  the  chances  were 
all  on  the  side  of  their  enemies.  Drouet  and 
Guillaume  had  arrived  at  Varennes  at  a  quarter 
past  eleven,  long  before  the  fugitives ;  they 
had  gone  immediately  to  Sauce  and  informed 
him  that  two  carriages  were  about  to  pass 
containing"  the  King,  his  family,  and  some 
persons  of  his  suite.  It  concerned  the  safety 
of  France  to  prevent  them  from  reaching  a 
foreign  country,  from  whence  they  would  imme- 
diately raise  monarchical  Europe  against  her. 
Sauce,  who  was  a  man  of  the  new  ideas,  roused 
his  children  and  desired  them  to  dress  them- 
selves promptly  and  give  an  alarm  by  running 
through  the  town  shouting  "  Fire  ! "  He  himself 
lighted  a  lantern,  and,  followed  by  a  neigh- 
bour, one  Eegnier,  a  lawyer,  also  by  Drouet 
and  Guillaume,  he  proceeded  to  the  bridge. 
Finding  a  laden  cart  there,  he  placed  it  across 
the  archway.  The  four  men  were  joined  by 
some  of  the  National  Guards,  whose  names 
have  been  preserved — the  two  brothers  Le 
Blanc,  Coquillard,  Justin  George,  Ponsin,  and 
two  travellers  named  Thenevin  des  Islettes  and 
Delion  de  Montfaucon,  who  lodged  at  the 
Auberge  du  Bras-d'or,  and  they  all  posted  them- 
selves in  the  darkness.  We  have  seen  how 
their  plan  succeeded. 


1 86  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

Meanwhile  the  Sauce  children,  the  accomplices 
of  Drouet,  reached  the  town  ;  the  alarm-bell 
was  rung,  and  the  suddenly-awakened  inhabi- 
tants flocked  to  the  house  of  the  Procureur, 
whither  the  travellers  had  been  taken.  The 
latter,  to  their  great  astonishment,  saw  no 
military  force  except  the  National  Guard,  which 
was  hostile  to  them.  What  had  become  of 
the  squadron  sent  to  Varennes  ?  There,  as 
all  along  the  route,  fatality  had  been  active. 
The  younger  Bouille,  who  commanded  the  de- 
tachment, finding  that  no  carriage  came  at 
the  appointed  hour,  waited  for  some  time,  then 
went  off  to  bed  ;  his  men  were  disbanded  ;  some 
of  them  returned  to  their  quarters,  where  they 
were  sleeping  soundly  ;  the  others  repaired  to 
the  taverns  in  the  town,  wliere  they  got  help- 
lessly drunk. 

At  the  sound  of  the  alarm-bell  Bouille  awoke, 
hastily  dressed  himself,  and  ran  to  collect  the 
hussars ;  but  so  great  was  the  disorder  that 
his  efforts  were  vain,  and  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  muster  even  the  semblance  of  a 
troop. 

Meanwhile  the  travellers  were  taken  by  Sauce 
into  a  top  room  at  the  back  of  the  house, 
which  was  already  surrounded.  It  was  midnight. 
Sauce  entreated  Louis  to  make  himself  known, 
but  the  King  continued  to  maintain,  in  a  tone 
which  gave  the  lie  to  his  words,  that  he  was  only 
a  valet-de-chambre.  This  contradiction  irritated 
the  patriots,  and  they  replied  to  him  angrily^ 
"  If  you  think  that  he  is  your  King,"  said 
Marie   Antoinette,  whose   pride   revolted   from 


THE  KING'S  WEAKNESS  187 

tliis  ridiculous  scene,  "  speak  to  him  with  more 
respect." 

Sauce  had  gone  to  seek  a  certain  M.  Destez, 
a  judge,  who  had  several  times  seen  the  King 
at  Paris  and  at  Versailles,  and  brought  him  to 
the  house.  Immediately  on  his  arrival  Destez 
recognised  him.  Louis  then  saw  that  it  was 
time  to  put  an  end  to  an  undignified  scene, 
and  suddenly  giving  way  to  emotion  as  puerile 
as  it  w^as  untimely,  he  threw  himself  into  the 
arms  of  the  Procureur.  "  Yes,"  he  cried,  "  I 
am  your  King.  In  the  capital  I  was  in  the 
midst  of  daggers  and  bayonets,  so  I  have  come 
to  the  country  to  seek  among  my  faithful  sub- 
jects the  liberty  and  the  peace  which  you  all 
enjoy;"  and  then  he  began  to  embrace  the 
bystanders,  the  very  men  who  had  just  arrested 
him. 

Marie  Antoinette,  broken  down  by  prolonged 
suspense,  by  the  fatigue  of  the  journey,  and  by 
her  consciousness  of  their  danger,  made  a  last 
effort.  She  addressed  herself  to  Madame  Sauce, 
invoked  her  compassion,  and  entreated  her  to 
induce  her  husband  to  let  them  depart.  "  Save 
the  King,"  said  she.  "  Bon  Dieu,  Madame," 
replied  the  grocer's  wife,  "  they  would  kill 
M.  Sauce.  True,  I  love  my  King,  but  then  I 
love  my  husband  also ;  he  is  responsible,  you 
see. 

There  is  something  to  be  said  for  the  poor 
woman.  Other  persons  who  were  witnesses 
of  the  scene  were  strongly  moved ;  some  shed 
tears,  but  nothing  could  shake  the  resolution 
of  all  to  detain  the  King.     It  seemed  as  though 


i88  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

they  obeyed  a  superior  will,  invoked  by  none, 
but  imposed  on  all. 

At  this  moment  Go2;uelat  and  Choiseul 
arrived ;  with  them  was  M.  de  Damas ;  he 
had  endeavoured  to  carry  off  his  dragoons  from 
Clermont  and  to  bring  them  to  the  aid  of 
the  King,  but  he  was  abandoned  by  them  and 
had  escaped  with  only  two  sub-officers.  They 
were  taken  into  the  house,  where  they  saw 
the  Queen,  Madame  Elizabeth,  Madame  Eoyale, 
and  Madame  de  Tourzel  seated  on  forms.  The 
Dauphin  was  asleep  in  his  clothes  on  an  un- 
made bed.  The  King  only  was  standing.  On 
perceiving  Goguelat  he  came  to  him  and  said, 
"  Well,  Goguelat,  when  do  we  start  ? "  "  Sire, 
when  it  shall  please  your  Majesty ;  I  wait  your 
orders."  But  the  King  was  not  either  morally 
or  physically  in  a  state  to  give  orders.  Sur- 
rounded by  the  members  of  the  municipality 
and  the  officers  of  the  National  Guard,  he 
repeated  to  them  that  he  wished  to  go  to 
Montmddy,  and  that  he  had  never  entertained 
any  intention  of  quitting  France. 

During  this  time  numerous  emissaries  were 
scouring  the  country.  The  National  Guards 
from  the  neighbouring  villages  were  coming 
in  on  all  sides.  The  excitement  was  rising  to 
a  dangerous  pitch  ;  every  moment  of  delay 
increased  the  risk  and  rendered  the  possi- 
bility of  departure  more  and  more  uncertain. 
Goguelat,  who  was  the  only,  or  almost  the 
only,  one  who  had  preserved  coolness,  and  who 
comprehended  the  full  peril  of  the  circumstances, 
was  out  of  patience.     He  was  a  man  of  action, 


BARON  DE  GOGUELAT  189 

and  he  could  not  bear  to  witness  the  King's 
apathy.  He  approached  Marie  Antoinette,  put 
her  in  possession  in  a  few  words  of  what  was 
happening  on  the  outside,  and  entreated  her 
to  use  all  her  influence  to  induce  the  King  to 
set  out  at  once.  But  the  Queen  herself  yielded 
to  despondency ;  perhaps  she  did  not  believe  in 
the  efficacy  of  the  intervention  which  Goguelat 
expected  from  her.  "  I  will  not  take  anything 
upon  myself,"  she  said.  "  It  is  the  King  who 
decided  upon  this  step ;  it  is  for  him  to  com- 
mand, and  my  duty  is  to  follow  him.  Besides, 
M.  de  Bouille  must  soon  be  here." 

But  M.  de  Bouille  did  not  arrive.  Would 
it  be  too  late  when  he  came  ?  and  would  he 
be  firm  enough  to  overcome  the  opposition 
that  had  been  allowed  to  gain  such  strength  ? 
Goguelat  thought  not ,  he  made  up  his  mind 
to  dispense  with  orders  which  nobody  was  in 
a  state  to  give  him,  and  listening  only  to  the 
promptings  of  his  courage  and  zeal,  he  left 
the  house,  and  mounting  his  horse,  rode  into 
the  town  in  order  to  procure  the  berline,  and 
also  to  muster  the  hussars. 

He  encountered  Drouet,  the  postmaster,  who 
came  up  to  him  in  a  threatening  manner.  "  I 
see  that  you  want  to  take  away  the  King," 
he  cried,  "  but  you  can  only  have  him  dead." 
The  Baron  made  no  reply,  so  fearful  was  he  of 
provoking  a  rising,  but  continued  on  his  way. 
He  was  coming  up  to  the  place  Avhere  the 
berline  stood  surrounded  by  a  curious  crowd, 
when  one  Roland,  major  of  the  National  Guard 
of  Varennes,  planted   himself  before   him   and 


iQO  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

exclaimed,  "  If  you  make  one  step  forward  I 
will  kill  you."  Goguelat  rode  at  him  sword  in 
hand;  the  major  fired  his  pistol  point-blank  at 
Goguelat,  hitting  him  in  the  chest.  A  second 
bullet  grazed  his  head.  He  fell  from  his  horse, 
and  was  immediately  seized  and  carried  to  a 
neighbouring  house,  where  his  wounds,  which 
were  fortunately  slight,  were  dressed.  But  he 
was  a  prisoner.  With  him  vanished  the  last 
chance  of  resistance.  The  hussars  whom  he 
had  collected,  being  deprived  of  their  officer, 
obeyed  the  orders  of  the  populace,  shouted 
"  Long  live  the  nation,"  and  again  dispersed. 

The  royal  captives  passed  the  night  in  terrible 
suspense.  Extreme  fatigue  alone  brought  slum- 
ber to  the  unhappy  travellers,  and  the  three 
body-guards,  whose  courage  and  fidelity  had 
been  unavailing,  slept  with  their  hats  on,  while 
the  King,  always  irresolute,  went  up  and  down 
the  narrow  wooden  stairs  leading  to  the  two 
little  rooms  in  w^hich  the  Queen  had  installed 
herself  with  her  children,  her  sister-in-law,  and 
the  ladies  of  her  suite. 

Fatigue,  anxiety,  and  humiliation  had  sub- 
dued her  physical  strength,  if  not  her  great 
heart.  She  fell  down  exhausted  by  the  side 
of  the  two  poor  little  partakers  of  her  misery, 
and  it  was  in  that  night  of  terrible  anguish 
that  her  "  locks  of  the  red  red  gold,"  once  so 
much  admired,  turned  white  like  the  hair  of  a 
woman  of  seventy ! 

The  dawn  came.  The  position  was  unchanged. 
M.  de  Bouille  had  not  arrived. 

Great   was  the   perplexity   of   the   patriots; 


AERIVAL  or  THE  PURSUERS  191 

they  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  their 
prisoners.  They  would  willingly  have  sent 
them  back  to  Paris,  but  they  dared  not,  and 
their  dilemma  encouraged  the  hopes  of  the 
King  and  Queen.  They  resorted  to  every  pre- 
text for  delay  they  could  imagine.  Mme.  de 
Neuville  pretended  to  faint,  and  Marie  Antoinette 
declared  that  she  would  not  go  without  her. 

Suddenly,  between  five  and  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  a  stir  was  observed  among  the 
crowd  around  the  house.  Had  Bouille  come 
at  last  ?  No  ;  but  M.  Romeuf,  aide-de-camp 
to  Lafayette,  and  M.  Baillon,  an  officer  of 
the  Parisian  National  Guard,  sent  in  pursuit 
of  the  King,  had  arrived.  This  event  was  a 
last  blow  to  the  hopes  of  the  fugitives,  and  a 
fresh  incentive  to  their  enemies. 

M.  Baillon  entered  the  room  where  the 
travellers  were  assembled,  and  there,  using 
exaggerated  language,  he  described  the  horrors 
to  which  the  capital  was  given  over,  the 
murders  which  were  being  committed  —  an 
imaginary  detail,  since  nothing  of  the  sort 
had  occurred — and  declared  that  the  one  only 
means  of  putting  an  end  to  fratricidal  strife 
was  the  King's  return  to  Paris. 

M.  Eomeuf,  who  was  more  sincerely  afi'ected 
and  better  behaved,  was  satisfied  with  reading 
a  former  decree  of  the  National  Assembly,  by 
which  the  King  was  prohibited  from  removing 
himself  to  a  distance  exceeding  twenty  leagues 
from  the  National  Assembly. 

Louis  XVI.,  confused  by  this  reminder,  stam- 
mered out — 


192  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

"  I  never  sanctioned  that." 

He  placed  the  paper  on  the  bed  where  the 
Dauphin  and  Madame  Eoyale  lay. 

Marie  Antoinette  snatched  it  up  and  threw  it 
on  the  ground,  exclaiming — 

"  It  would  soil  my  children's  bed  !  " 

M.  Komeuf  endeavoured  to  soothe  her  anger, 
but  she  responded  only  by  reproaching  him 
severely  for  having  accepted  an  odious  mission, 
in  which  she  plainly  recognised  the  hand  of 
Lafayette. 

The  King,  clinging  to  his  delusive  hope  to 
the  last,  took  M.  Baillon  aside  and  strove 
to  move  him  to  pity.  "  Yet  an  instant,"  he 
urged.  "Is  it  not  possible  to  wait  until 
eleven  o'clock  ? " 

"Eleven  o'clock"  meant  succour,  meant  the 
Royal  Allemand  led  by  the  General,  and  this 
was  just  what  Romeuf  and  Baillon  did  not  mean 
to  wait  for.  Every  effort  was  ineffectual ;  it 
was  impossible  to  bend  those  inflexible  func- 
tionaries, backed  by  the  clamour  of  the  multi- 
tude who  now  filled  Varennes.  The  prisoners 
were  reduced  to  despair ;  how  could  they  con- 
tend with  the  adverse  fortune  which  had 
betrayed  them  and  delivered  them  over  to  their 
enemies  ? 

And  yet  one  more  chance,  a  last  chance, 
was  afforded  them — but  in  vain  ;  they  were  in- 
capable of  profiting  by  it.  M.  Deslon,  a  brave 
officer,  who  had  commanded  the  squadron  posted 
at  Dun,  being  surprised  and  uneasy  at  the 
non-arrival  of  the  royal  family,  had  marched 
to  Varennes    during   the   night,  and    obtained 


UTTER  ROUT  193 

admittance  to  the  city,  though  only  for  him- 
self. He  gained  access  to  the  King,  ex- 
plained that  he  had  been  obliged  to  leave  his 
men  at  the  gates  of  Varennes  by  order  of 
the  municipal  authorities,  but  that  he  could 
go  and  inform  his  general ;  in  short,  he,  like 
Goguelat,  asked  the  King  for  orders. 

"  You  may  tell  M.  de  Bouille  that  I  am  a 
prisoner,  that  I  am  much  afraid  he  can  do 
nothing  for  me,  but  that  I  beg  him  to  do 
what  he  can." 

On  hearing  these  desponding  words,  M. 
Deslon  turned  to  the  Queen,  and,  as  he  was 
an  Alsatian,  he  muttered  a  few  words  in  Ger- 
man. Marie  Antoinette  stopped  him  abruptly. 
"  They  are  listening ;  do  not  speak  to  me," 
said  she.  M.  Deslon  withdrew  in  despair. 
What  could  he  attempt  on  behalf  of  princes 
who  gave  up  their  own  cause  ?  It  was  finished. 
They  had  to  go.  At  any  rate,  his  emotions  did 
not  act  upon  the  physical  wants  of  the  King; 
he  ate  his  breakfast  and  slept  for  a  short  time. 

The  carriages  were  soon  brought  up,  the 
travellers  resumed  their  places,  and  at  half- 
past  seven  the  big  berline  was  once  more  put 
in  motion  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of  National 
Guards,  and  the  cortege  set  out  on  the  return 
to  Paris. 

An  hour  and  a  half  later  a  cloud  of  dust, 
visible  from  the  town,  announced  the  arrival 
of  a  strong  body  of  troops ;  it  was  Bouille. 
He  had  re-entered  Stenay  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  being  joined  there  by  two 
officers,  learned  from  them  that  the  King  had 


194  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

been  stopped  at  midnight.  He  had  his  horses 
saddled  immediately,  called  the  Royal  Alle- 
mand  together,  distributed  four  hundred  louis 
among  his  troopers  to  stimulate  their  zeal  and 
strengthen  their  fidelity,  and  put  them  in 
motion,  riding  down  the  few  National  Guards 
who  made  an  attempt  to  check  his  advance 
here  and  there.  But  he  met  Deslon  with  his 
squadron  at  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  was  in- 
formed by  him  that  the  travellers  had  started 
an  hour  and  a  half  previously. 

Bouille  states  in  his  Memoires  that  he  re- 
solved on  the  instant  to  pass  round  Varennes 
and  pursue  the  cortege  in  order  to  deliver  the 
King  by  main  force,  and  was  about  to  give 
orders  accordingly,  when  it  was  announced  to 
him  that  the  garrisons  of  Metz  and  Verdun 
had  just  sided  with  the  National  Guards  and 
the  excited  populace.  The  attempt  which  he 
was  meditating  lost  its  best  chances  of  success, 
especially  as  he  could  no  longer  reckon  con- 
fidently on  his  troops  in  the  face  of  so  much 
opposition.  And  so  Bouille  "  shook  his  bridle- 
rein,"  abandoned  the  remains  of  his  force,  passed 
the  frontier  into  Luxemburg,  and  eluded  the 
warrant  that  was  immediately  issued  for  his 
arrest. 

The  heavy  berline,  which  had  travelled  slowly 
enough  on  the  first  journey,  went  more  slowly 
still  on  the  second ;  it  was  forbidden  to  ad- 
vance faster  than  the  body  of  National  Guards 
which  escorted  it  on  foot.  This  was  a  terrible 
ordeal  for  the  travellers,  and  it  was  rendered 
more  painful  by  the  burning  rays  of  the  dazzling 


M.  DE  DAMPIEREE  195 

sun,  for  the  jealous  watchfulness  of  the  people 
forbade  the  lowering  of  the  blinds. 

Presently  a  dreadful  spectacle  struck  the 
unfortunate  captives  with  terror,  and  showed 
what  cruelty  and  savagery  there  was  in  these 
newly  -  emancipated  citizens,  who  had  such 
strange  notions  of  liberty.  A  gentleman,  one 
M.  de  Dampierre,  conceived  it  his  duty  to 
salute  the  fallen  Majesties  of  France  when  they 
passed  before  his  chateau.  He  was  allowed  to 
approach  and  pay  his  loyal  homage  to  the 
King  and  Queen  ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  with- 
drawn to  about  fifty  paces  than  some  wretches 
shot  him  "like  a  rabbit."  He  fell,  they  flung 
themselves  upon  his  corpse,  and  greater  wretches 
still  cut  his  head  off  and  carried  the  bleeding 
trophy  to  the  doors  of  the  berline. 

A  little  farther  on  the  Queen  was  grossly 
insulted.  She  had  observed  that  among  the 
people  surrounding  the  carriage  some  looked 
hungry,  and  in  her  pity  she  offered  to  the 
nearest  a  slice  of  the  piece  of  hceuf  a  la  mode 
which  Fersen's  valet  had  placed  in  the  carriage. 

"  Don't  eat  it,"  exclaimed  a  furious  voice. 
"  Do  you  not  see  that  she  wants  to  poison 
you  ? " 

Tears  of  indignation  came  into  the  Queen's 
eyes.  With  a  gesture  both  dignified  and  wrath- 
ful she  withdrew  the  slice  of  meat,  and  imme- 
diately ate  some  of  it  herself;  she  also  made  her 
son  do  the  same. 

At  Chalons  the  route  had  been  changed, 
and  they  were  returning  by  Epernay,  when  at 
a   league   and   a   half  above   that    town,    near 


196  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

the  little  village  of  Pont-a-Binson,  a  great 
clamour  arose,  as  the  crowd  caught  sight  of 
the  three  commissaries  delegated  by  the  Na- 
tional Assembly — Barnave,  Latour  -  Maubourg, 
and  Petion. 

The  cortege  halted.  Petion  came  forward 
to  read  the  decree  of  the  Assembly.  But  it 
would  be  doing  that  illustrious  personage  a 
wrong  to  tell  a  story  which  he  has  taken  the 
trouble  to  narrate.  If  BufFon  be  right,  and 
"  the  style  is  the  man,"  we  may  judge  what 
Petion  was  by  reading  him. 

Pdtion's  account  of  the  return  to  Paris 
was  pu})lished  for  the  first  time  by  M.  Mor- 
timer-Ternaux  in  his  Histoire  de  la  Terreur. 
It  is  long  and  rather  diffuse ;  some  extracts 
from  it  will  suffice.^ 

"  On  perceiving  us,  a  cry  of  '  There  are 
the  deputies  of  the  National  Assembly,'  was 
raised.  They  made  way  for  us  everywhere, 
and  gave  signals  for  order  and  silence.  The 
cortege  was  superb :  National  Guards  on  horse- 
back, on  foot,  in  uniform,  out  of  uniform, 
arms  of  every  kind ;  the  sun  on  its  decline 
reflected  light  on  this  fine  scene,  in  the  midst 
of  a  peaceful  landscape,^  the  great  circum- 
stance, everything,  I  know  not  what,  was  im- 
posing, and  gave  birth  to  ideas  which  cannot  he 
calculated,  hut  how  diversified  and  exaggerated 
was  the  feeling!  I  cannot  depict  the  respect 
with  which  we  were  surrounded. 

1  M.  Paul  Gaulot  preserves  the  bad  spelling  and  punctuation 
of  this  remarkable  document,  which  can  only  be  appreciated 
through  a  literal  translation. 


PETION  197 

"In  tlie  midst  of  tlie  horses,  the  clash  of 
arms,  the  apphause  of  the  crowd,  whose  eager- 
ness impelled  them  forward,  w^hile  the  fear 
of  pressing  upon  us  held  them  back,  we 
reached  the  side  of  the  carriage.  The  door 
was  instantly  opened.  Confused  sounds  issued 
from  within.  The  Queen  and  Madame  Elizabeth 
seemed  strongly  agitated,  distressed.  '  Oh,  sirs  ! ' 
they  said  with  precipitation,  with  oppression, 
the  tears  in  their  eyes — '  Oh,  sirs  !  Ah  1  Monsieur 
Maubourg,'  appealingly  taking  his  hand.  '  Ah  ! 
Monsieur,'  also  taking  Barnave's  hand.  '  Ah ! 
Monsieur,'  said  Madame  Elizabeth,  placing  her 
hand  on  mine  only,  '  let  no  misfortune  happen  ; 
let  not  the  people  who  have  accompanied  us  be 
victims  ;  let  not  their  lives  be  taken.  The  King 
did  not  wish  to  leave  France.' 

"  '  No,  gentlemen,'  said  the  King,  speaking 
with  volubility,  *  I  was  not  going  out  of  the 
country,  that  is  true.'  This  scene  was  rapid ; 
it  lasted  only  a  minute,  but  how  that  minute 
struck  me !  Maubourg  answered ;  I  answered 
by  Ahs !  by  insignificant  words  and  some  signs 
of  dignity  without  harshness,  of  mildness  with- 
out affectation,  and,  cutting  this  colloquy 
short,  assuming  the  character  of  our  mission, 
I  announced  it  to  the  King  in  a  few  words, 
and  read  to  him  the  decree  of  which  I ' 
w^as  the  bearer.  The  greatest  silence  reigned 
at  this  moment. 

"Passing  to  the  other  side  of  the  carriage, 
I  called  for  silence.  I  obtained  it,  and  I 
read  aloud  the  decree  to  the  citizens ;  it  was 
applauded. 


198  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

"We  said  to  the  King  that  it  was  fitting 
we  should  take  our  places  in  his  carriage. 
Barnave  and  I  stepped  in,  but  we  had  hardly 
done  so  when  we  said  to  the  King — 

"  '  But,  Sire,  we  shall  inconvenience,  crowd 
you.     It  is  impossible  for  us  to  find  room  here.' 

"  The  King  replied — 

"  '  I  desire  that  none  of  the  persons  who 
have  accompanied  me  shall  get  out.  I  beg 
you  to  seat  yourselves.  We  can  sit  closer ; 
you  will  find  room.' 

"  The  King,  the  Queen,  the  Prince  Eoyal, 
were  on  the  back  seats ;  Madame  Elizal)eth, 
Mme.  de  Tourzel,  and  Madame  Koyale  were  on 
the  front.  The  Queen  took  the  Prince  on 
her  lap,  Barnave  placed  himself  between  the 
King  and  the  Queen,  Mme.  de  Tourzel  put 
Madame  between  her  knees,  and  I  sat  between 
Mme.  Elizabeth  and  j\lme.  de  Tourzel.  After 
the  first  small  -  talk  was  over,  I  perceived 
a  family  air  of  simplicity  which  pleased  me. 
There  was  no  longer  any  royal  representa- 
tion ;  there  existed  an  ease  and  a  domestic 
good-nature.  The  Queen  called  Madame  Eliza- 
beth my  little  sister ;  Madame  Elizabeth  an- 
swered her  the  same ;  Madame  Elizabeth  called 
the  King  my  brother ;  the  Queen  danced  the 
little  Prince  on  her  knees ;  Madame,  although 
more  reserved,  played  with  her  brother.  The 
King  regarded  all  this  with  a  pretty  well- 
satisfied  air,  although  little  moved  and  not 
sensitive. 

"  I  also  examined  the  dress  of  the  travel- 
lers.     It  was   impossible   for    it    to   be    more 


MADAME  ELIZABETH  199 

mean.  The  King  had  a  brown  plush  coat, 
very  dirty  linen ;  the  women  very  common 
morn  ing-gowns. 

"The  Queen  and  Madame  Elizabeth  turned 
again  and  again  to  the  body-guards,  who 
were  on  the  box  -  seat,  and  manifested  the 
greatest  anxiety. 

"  The  King  spoke  little,  and  the  conversa- 
tion became  more  particular ;  the  Queen  spoke 
to  Barnave,  and  Madame  Elizabeth  to  me,  as 
though  they  had  distributed  their  r61es,  saying 
to  each  other,  '  Do  you  take  charge  of  your 
neighbour  ;  I  will  take  charge  of  mine.'  " 

Starting  from  this  idea,  Petion's  narrative, 
in  which  the  matter  is  on  a  par  with  the 
style,  shows  what  havoc  may  be  made  of  a 
narrow  intellect  and  a  common  mind  by  a 
too  sudden  rise  in  position,  and  the  ill-under- 
stood teaching  of  Jean  Jacques  Eousseau.  He 
proceeds : — 

"  Madame  Elizabeth  gazed  at  me  with  soft 
eyes,  with  that  air  of  languor  which  misfortune 
gives,  and  which  inspires  a  lively  interest.  Our 
eyes  met  sometimes  with  a  kind  of  intelligence 
and  attraction ;  the  night  was  closing  in ;  the 
moon  began  to  shed  that  gentle  light.  Madame 
Elizabeth  took  Madame  on  her  lap  ;  she  then 
placed  her,  half  on  her  knee,  half  on  mine ; 
her  head  was  supported  by  my  hand,  then  by 
hers.  Madame  fell  asleep ;  I  stretched  out 
my  arm.  Madame  Elizabeth  stretched  hers 
upon  mine.  Our  arms  were  entwined  ;  mine 
passed   under    her    armpit.^     I   felt   quickened 

1  Aisselle,  spelled  'eselle  by  Petion. 


200  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

movements,  heat  which  came  through  the 
garments ;  the  glances  of  Madame  Elizabeth 
seemed  to  me  more  touching.  I  perceived  a 
certain  unrestraint  in  her  bearing,  her  eyes 
were  moist,  a  kind  of  pleasure  was  mingled 
with  melancholy.  I  may  deceive  myself — it 
is  easy  to  confound  the  sensibility  of  mis- 
fortune with  the  sensibility  of  pleasure — but 
/  think  if  ive  had  been  alone,  if,  as  hy  en- 
chantment, everyhody  had  disappeared,  she 
tuould  have  fallen  into  my  arms  and  yielded 
to  the  impulses  of  nature^ 

His  sagacious  mind  is,  however,  invaded  by 
a  doubt.  What  if  that  sensibility  which  he 
analyses  so  ably  were  neither  "  that  of  mis- 
fortune nor  that  of  pleasure  "  ?  He  knows  what 
abominations  princesses  are  capable  of,  with  the 
object  of  doing  harm  to  an  honest  man,  and 
he  becomes  suspicious.  "  May  not  Madame 
Elizabeth  have  consented  to  sacrifice  her  own 
honour  in  order  to  make  me  lose  mine  ? " 

But  no,  this  is  unlikely.  "  Considering  that 
natural  air,  my  self-esteem  also  insinuating  to 
me  that  I  might  please  her  ;  that  she  was  at 
the  age  when  the  passions  make  themselves 
felt,  I  persuaded  myself,  and  found  pleasure 
in  doing  so,  that  she  herself  wished  we  could 
have  been  without  witnesses,  so  that  I  might 
have  made  those  soft  advances  to  her,  offered 
those  delicate  caresses  which  vanquish  modesty 
without  offending  it,  and,  without  alarming 
delicacy,  bring  about  defeat,  in  which  only 
confusion  and  nature  are  accomplices." 

But    they   were    not    alone,    and,   moreover, 


AN  EGEEGIOUS  ASS  201 

Petion  was  not  tlie  man  to  take  advantage  of 
such  an  opportunity.  In  vain,  therefore,  was 
there  "  something  flattering "  in  the  voice  of 
the  Princess.  He  answered  "  with  a  kind  of 
austerity  in  which  there  was  nothing  morose," 
and  he  took  good  care  "  not  to  compromise 
his  character." 

"  I  gave  all  that  was  necessary  to  the  posi- 
tion in  which  I  believed  her  to  be,  without, 
however,  giving  enough  to  enable  her  to  think, 
even  to  suspect,  that  anything  could  ever  alter 
my  opinion." 

The  result  of  this  noble  reserve  may  be 
foreseen,  or  rather,  Petion's  imagination,  which 
had  provided  his  vanity  with  a  very  flattering 
little  romance,  supplies  the  appropriate  fitting 
ending.  Madame  Elizabeth  "  saw  that  the 
most  enticing  temptations  would  be  unavailing." 
He  then  observed  in  her  bearing  "  a  certain  cool- 
ness, a  certain  severity,  which  often  arises  in 
women  from  mortified  vanity." 

The  virtuous  young  lady  to  whom  Petion 
imputes  such  feelings  would  assuredly  have 
been  astonished  to  learn  what  restraint  he  put 
upon  himself  in  abstaining  from  "  those  soft 
advances  and  delicate  caresses  which  van- 
quish modesty  ivithout  offending  it,"  and  she 
would  have  pardoned  the  culprit  in  conside- 
ration of  his  folly.  History  ought  not  to  be 
more  severe. 

At  length  they  arrived  at  Dormans,  and 
alighted  at  a  mean-looking  tavern.  "  I  own," 
writes  Petion,  "that  I  was  not  sorry  the 
Court  should  know  what  an  ordinary  inn  is." 


202  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

There  was,  indeed,  sometliing  in  this  to  gratify 
the  representative  of  the  people,  the  enemy 
of  the  great,  who  notes  with  satisfaction  that 
there  were  occasional  shouts  of  "  Long  live 
Barnave  1  Long  live  Petion  ! "  but  that  none 
cried,  "  Long  live  the  King." 

The  next  day  he  seated  himself  in  the 
berline  between  the  King  and  Queen.  His 
purpose  was  to  test  the  intelligence  of  Louis, 
and  he  proceeded  to  do  this  with  great  adroit- 
ness, in  his  own  opinion. 

"  I  said  to  him  from  time  to  time,  '  See  how 
beautiful  the  country  is !  What  a  fine  country 
France  is  !  No  kingdom  in  the  world  can  be 
compared  with  it ! ' 

"  I  threw  out  these  ideas  with  a  purpose ; 
I  wanted  to  judge  by  the  King's  countenance 
what  impression  they  made ;  but  his  face  is 
always  cold,  most  provokingly  inanimate  ;  to 
tell  the  truth,  that  mass  of  flesh  is  without 
feeling." 

Louis  XVL  certainly  did  not  possess  a 
superior  intellect,  but  his  remaining  un- 
moved by  the  exclamations  of  Petion  cannot 
fairly  be  quoted  against  him  as  a  grievance. 

Marie  Antoinette  did  not  impress  Petion 
much  more  favourably,  although  she  talked 
with  him  "in  an  easy  and  familiar  manner." 
It  did  not  take  him  long  to  perceive  that  all 
she  said  was  "  extremely  superficial,"  and 
"  that  she  did  not  give  utterance  to  any 
strong  or  marked  idea ;  she  had  not  in  any 
sense  either  the  air  or  the  attitude  of  her 
position. 


A  CAm)ID  CRITIC  203 

At  La  Ferte-sous-Jouarre  there  was  another 
halt,  and  the  King  was  entertained  by  the 
Mayor,  who  owned  a  very  handsome  house  on 
the  banks  of  the  Marne.  While  waiting  for 
dinner,  Petion  took  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  join  Madame  Elizabeth  in  a  walk 
on  the  terrace. 

"  There,"  says  he,  "I  spoke  to  her  with  all 
the  frankness  and  veracity  of  my  nature ;  I 
represented  to  her  how  ill  -  surrounded,  ill- 
advised  the  King  was ;  I  spoke  to  her  of  all 
the  Court  manoeuvres  with  the  dignity  of  a 
free  man  and  the  disdain  of  a  wise  man.  .  .  . 
She  took  pleasure  in  my  conversation,  and  I 
took  pleasure  in  conversing  with  her.  I  should 
be  much  surprised  if  she  has  not  a  good  and 
high  mind,  although  much  imbued  with  the 
prejudices  of  birth,  and  spoiled  by  the  vices 
of  a  Court  education." 

The  foregoing  remark  does  not  display  any 
great  perspicacity ;  but  it  appears  singularly 
intelligent  in  comparison  with  the  following  : — 

"  Barnave  talked  for  a  while  with  the  Queen, 
but  it  appeared  to  me  in  rather  an  indifterent 
manner." 

He  had  already  observed  that  their  con- 
versation in  the  carriage  "  did  not  seem  mys- 
terious." 

Considering  the  change  that  took  place  from 
that  moment  in  the  opinions  and  conduct  of 
Barnave,  we  may  conclude  that  Petion  was 
more  ingenious  in  imputing  to  persons  opinions 
which  they  did  not  hold,  than  in  discerning 
those  they  did. 


204  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  following  morning  at  five  o'clock  the 
journey  was  resumed. 

"  We  jogged  along  quietly.  I  was  seated 
next  to  the  Queen,  and  she  addressed  me 
frequently.  I  had  the  opportunity  of  telling 
her,  with  entire  frankness,  all  that  was  thought 
of  the  Court,  and  what  was  said  of  the 
schemers  who  frequented  the  Chateau.  .  .  . 
I  put  no  constraint  of  any  kind  upon  my- 
self." 

His  reflections  had  more  sense  in  them 
when  he  came  to  speak  of  the  King's 
flight. 

"  The  Queen  and  Madame  Elizabeth  often 
repeated  that  the  King  was  free  to  travel 
in  his  kingdom,  and  that  he  had  never  had 
any  intention  of  leaving  it. 

"Allow  me,"  said  I  to  the  Queen,  "not  to 
go  into  the  matter  of  that  intention.  I  will 
suppose  that  the  King  had  at  first  stopped 
at  the  frontier ;  he  would  have  been  in  a 
position  to  pass  over  into  foreign  territory  at 
any  moment ;  he  might  perhaps  have  found 
himself  forced  to  do  so,  and  then,  besides,  the 
King  cannot  have  disguised  from  himself  that 
his  absence  might  give  rise  to  most  serious  dis- 
order. The  least  evil  caused  by  his  departure 
was  the  sudden  stoppage  of  the  business  of  the 
National  Assembly." 

They  reached  Meaux  early,  and  alighted  at 
the  palace  of  the  Bishop,  a  "  Constitutionel  " — 
"  this  could  not  be  very  pleasing  to  the  King ; 
but  he  gave  no  sign  of  annoyance." 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  set  out 


QUEEN  AND  MOTHEE  INSULTED  205 

again,  and  Potion  resumed  his  former  place 
between  Madame  Elizabeth  and  Madame  de 
Tourzel.  "  Never  was  there  a  longer  and  more 
fatiguing  day.  The  heat  was  extreme,  and 
we  were  wrapped  in  whirlwinds  of  dust.  The 
King  offered  me  something  to  drink,  and 
poured  it  out  for  me  several  times.  We  re- 
mained for  twelve  hours  in  the  carriage,  with- 
out leaving  it  for  a  moment." 

As  they  approached  Paris,  the  popular  spirit 
became  worse,  or  at  least  it  was  more  openly 
manifested.  At  Pantin  there  was  a  scuffle, 
and  in  the  tumult  the  vilest  epithets  were 
applied  to  the  Queen. 

"The  "  cried  some  angry  men.      "It  is 

no  use  for  her  to  show  us  her  son ;  we  know 
he  is  none  of  his  ! " 

"The  King  heard  this  very  distinctly.  The 
young  Prince,  terrified  by  the  noise  and  the 
clash  of  arms,  uttered  cries  of  alarm  ;  the  Queen 
checked  him ;  the  tears  were  rolling  in  her 
eyes." 

Poor  woman !  poor  mother !  how  well  we 
understand  the  immense  pity  that  seized  upon 
Barnave  at  the  sight  of  such  great  misery : 
it  could  not  but  touch  a  man  with  a  heart. 
Petion  was  safe  from  any  such  emotion. 

Instead  of  passing  through  Saint -Denis,  the 
cortege  went  round  Paris,  and  entered  by  the 
Porte  de  la  Conference,  above  the  Champs- 
Elysees. 

Thousands  of  posters,  put  up  by  unknown 
hands,  and  reflecting  the  general  feeling,  pre- 
scribed the  aspect  which  the  people  were  to 
10 


2o6  A  FRIEKD  OF  THE  QUEEN 

assume  on  the  return  of  their  sovereign  :  "  Any 
one  who  shall  applaud  the  King  will  be  beaten. 
Any  one  who  shall  insult  him  will  be 
hanged." 

Troops  were  stationed  from  the  Barriere  de 
I'Etoile  to  the  Tuileries,  and  formed  a  line,  with 
reversed  arms.  An  immense  crowd  had  assembled, 
without  noise  or  violence,  and  looked  angrily 
on  as  the  cortege  passed,  but  "  were  perfectly 
orderly."  "  Every  man  had  his  hat  on  his  head  ; 
the  most  majestic  silence  reigned." 

The  berline  crossed  the  swinof  -  bridge  and 
entered  the  gardens  of  the  Tuileries.  The 
bridge  was  immediately  shut ;  but  tliis  pre- 
caution was  useless,  for  a  crowd  of  National 
Guards  in  arms  had  been  allowed  to  invade 
the  garden,  and  these  soldier-citizens  were  in 
a  state  of  vehement  excitement.  They  loudly 
threatened  the  three  body  -  guards,  who  sat 
impassive  on  the  box-seat  of  the  berline,  over- 
whelmed them  with  abuse,  and  at  one  moment 
seemed  about  to  proceed  to  violence.  The 
three  brave  fellows,  powerless  to  defend  them- 
selves against  such  a  number  of  assailants, 
and  thinking  their  last  hour  was  come,  sprang 
off  the  carriage,  with  the  chivalrous  intention 
of  at  least  sparing  the  royal  family  the  pain  of 
seeing  them  massacred  before  their  eyes. 

"Monsieur  de  Lafayette,  save  the  body- 
guards ! "  cried  the  Queen  wildly ;  she  still 
retained  sufficient  self-command  to  enable  her 
to  think  of  others  besides  herself,  notwith- 
standing the  threats  directed  against  all. 

Several  deputies  interposed  courageously,  and 


VANQUISHED  BUT  NOT  SUBDUED    207 

took  tlie  three  gentlemen  under  their  protec- 
tion ;  thus  were  their  lives  saved. 

M.  de  Lafayette,  on  horseback,  presided  at 
the  arrival.  The  carriage  doors  were  opened ; 
the  King  stepped  out  —  silence.  The  Queen 
appeared — murmurs  arose.  M.  de  NoaUles,  a 
Liberal  deputy,  advanced  to  offer  her  his  arm. 
The  haughty  daughter  of  Maria  Theresa,  van- 
quished but  not  subdued,  declined  it,  and  took 
the  arm  of  a  deputy  of  the  Right.  The  children 
came  next,  then  Madame  Elizabeth,  Madame 
de  Tourzel,  and  the  two  commissaries.  A  gro- 
tesque little  incident  then  occurred.  Although 
the  crowd  were  shouting,  "Long  livePetion" — 
it  is  he  who  says  so — they  evidently  did  not 
recognise  the  object  of  their  acclamations,  for, 
Potion  being  mixed  up  with  the  King's  ser- 
vants, was  taken  by  the  collar  by  a  zealous 
patriot,  who  was  about  to  treat  him  to  a  good 
kicking,  when  some  of  his  colleagues  came  to 
the  spot,  apprised  the  enthusiastic  citizen  of  his 
mistake,  and  Petion,  being  released,  repaired  to 
the  royal  apartments. 

The  royal  family  were  in  the  room  preceding 
the  King's  bed-chamber.  Anybody  might  come 
in  who  liked  to  do  so.  One  CoroUer,  a  deputy 
from  the  province  of  Brittany,  a  good  sort  of 
fellow,  approached  the  King  and  began  to  ad- 
dress him  in  a  half-kindly,  half-lecturing  tone, 
as  if  he  w^ere  reprimanding  a  schoolboy. 

*'  Now,  have  you  not  made  a  nice  mess  of 
it?  This  is  what  comes  of  having  such  bad 
people  about  you !  You  are  good,  you  aro 
beloved  ;  just  see  what  you  have  done  ! " 


2o8  A  FRIEOT)  OF  THE  QUEEN 

And  then  lie  became  quite  tender.  The 
King  did  not  know  how  to  put  an  end  to  this 
ridiculous  scene,  which  was  succeeded  by  a 
more  respectful  but  perhaps  more  painful  one, 
at  least  for  Marie  Antoinette,  who  had  not  the 
inexhaustible  resignation  of  her  apathetic  spouse. 

General  Lafayette  presented  himself  and  said 
to  the  King — 

"  Sire,  your  Majesty  knows  my  attachment  to 
you  ;  but  I  have  not  concealed  from  you  that  if 
you  separated  your  cause  from  that  of  the  people, 
I  should  remain  on  the  side  of  the  people." 

"  That  is  true,"  replied  the  King ;  "  you  have 
acted  on  your  principles ;  it  is  an  affair  of 
party.  Now  I  am  here,  I  will  tell  you  frankly 
that  until  lately  I  have  believed  that  you  sur- 
rounded me  with  a  crowd  of  people  of  your  own 
way  of  thinking,  but  who  did  not  represent  the 
mind  of  France.  This  journey  has  plainly  shown 
me  my  mistake,  and  that  such  is  the  general 
mind." 

"Has  your  Majesty  any  commands  to  give 
me?" 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  the  King,  laughing, 
"that  I  am  more  at  your  command  than  you 
at  mine." 

No  one  could  be  more  good-natured,  and  he 
took  his  hard  lot  as  well  as  man  could  take  it. 
The  Queen  had  not  that  virtue,  or  rather  that 
weakness.  Treating  Lafayette  as  a  gaoler,  she 
wanted  to  force  him  to  receive  the  keys  of  the 
cash-boxes  which  had  been  left  in  the  carriage, 
and  as  he  refused,  she  threw  them  upon  his  hat. 

"  Your  Majesty  will  have  the  trouble  of  taking 


I 


THE  KING'S  JOURNAL  209 

tliem  back  again,"  lie  said,  "for  I  will  not  touch 
them." 

"Very  well,"  she  replied;  "I  shall  find  per- 
sons less  scrupulous  than  you." 

She  did  not  find  any  such ;  but  although  the 
appearance  of  captivity  was  spared  to  the  royal 
couple,  who  had  been  brought  back  to  Paris 
for  the  second  time,  that  captivity  had  begun 
in  earnest,  and  it  was  close  and  unremitting. 

As  for  Louis  XVI.,  he  resumed  the  ordinary 
course  of  his  life,  and  his  journal  does  not 
indicate  any  recollection  of  very  keen  emotions. 
We  can  judge,  for  here  it  is  : — 

"June  1791,  Mondaij  20. — Nothing. 

^^  Tuesday  21. — Departure  from  Paris  at  midnight. 
Arrived  and  stopped  at  Varennes  in  Argonne  at  eleven 
o'clock  at  night. 

*'  Wednesday  22. — Departure  from  Yarennes  at  five  or 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Breakfast  at  Sainte-Menehould. 
Arrived  at  Chalons  at  ten  o'clock ;  supped  there,  and  slept 
at  the  former  Intendance. 

^^  Thursday  23. — At  half- past  eleven  Mass  was  inter- 
rupted to  hasten  the  departure.  Breakfast  at  Chalons. 
Dined  at  Epernay.  Found  the  Commissaries  of  the  As- 
sembly near  the  bridge  at  Binson.  Arrived  at  Dormans  at 
eleven  o'clock ;  supped  there.  Slept  three  hours  in  an 
arm-chair. 

'^Friday  24. — Left  Dormans  at  half-past  seven;  dined 
at  La  Ferte-sous-Jouarre.  Arrived  at  Meaux  at  ten  o'clock. 
Supped  and  slept  at  the  Bishop's  palace. 

^^  Saturday  25. — Left  Meaux  at  half-past  six.  Arrived 
at  Paris  at  eight  o'clock  without  stopping. 

^^  Sunday  26. — Nothing  at  all.  Mass  in  the  gallery. 
Meeting  of  the  Commissaries  of  the  Assembly. 

^^  Monday  27. — Nothing  at  all. 

"  Tuesday  28. — Nothing  at  all. 

"  Wednesday  29. — Nothing  at  all. 

"  Tiiursday  30. — Nothing  at  all." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Count  Fersen  at  Mons — False  news — "  The  King  is  saved  ! " — 
Count  Fersen  meets  Bouille  at  Arlon— "  All  is  lost ! " — M. 
de  Mercy -Argenteau  at  Brussels — "He  takes  the  gloomiest 
view" — Notes  from  Marie  Antoinette — The  Princesse  de 
Lamballe — Mme.  de  Polignac — News  from  Paris — Dejection 
of  the  King — The  King  and  Queen  are  interrogated  by 
Tronchet,  Duport,  and  d' Andre — Indictment  of  the  authors 
of  the  "Abduction  of  the  King"  and  their  accomplices — 
Count  Fersen's  sojourn  in  France  interdicted — M.  de  Damas, 
M.  d'Audoins,  M.  de  Choiseul,  and  M.  de  Goguelat — Coura- 
geous bearing  of  the  three  body-guards — Letter  from  the 
Marquis  de  Bouille  to  the  National  Assembly— Displeasure 
of  the  Royalists  remaining  in  France — The  King  of  Sweden 
at  Spa — Count  Fersen  at  Coblentz — The  princes  :  Monsieur 
and  the  Comte  d'Artois — M.  de  Calonue — Count  Fersen 
at  Vienna — Interview  with  the  Emperor  Leopold — "The 
accursed  Florentine" — The  political  interest  of  the  House 
of  Austria  in  the  degradation  of  the  House  of  France — A 
contemplated  landing  in  Normandy — Louis  XVI.  accepts 
the  Constitution — The  Queen  accused  of  allowing  herself 
to  be  led  by  Barnave — Her  double  game — Letters  to  Fersen 
— Political  and  private  communications. 

Count  Fersen  arrived  at  Mons  on  the  22  nd 
of  June  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He 
did  not  yet  venture  to  feel  certain  that 
the  attempted  escape  of  the  royal  family  had 
succeeded.  His  anxiety  was  great,  and  many 
things  concurred  to  render  it  painful :  his  love 
for  the  Queen,  his  own  share  in  the  flight,  his 
dread  of  the  frightful  evils  which  must  inevit- 
ably be  the  result  of  failure,  and  lastly,  the 
thought  that  possibly  he  might  never  see  her 
again. 


A  MEETING  AND  A  SHOCK  211 

Up  to  the  present,  however,  appearances  had 
been  favourable.  Mrs.  Sullivan  had  arrived 
safely  at  Mons,  and  also  the  Comte  de  Pro- 
vence, who  had  left  Paris  at  the  same  time 
as  the  King,  and  had  been  fortunate  enough 
to  rejoin  his  mistress,  Mme.  de  Balbi,  without 
having  encountered  any  obstacle.  Several 
French  people  who  had  recently  emigrated 
received  the  first  announcement  of  the  depar- 
ture of  the  royal  family  with  great  pleasure, 
and  went  about  accosting  one  another,  and 
interchanging  their  impressions  and  hopes. 

A  monk  had  met  Count  Fersen  in  the 
street,  and  asked  him  whether  the  King  was 
saved.  The  rumour  soon  got  abroad,  none 
knew  how,  and  the  false  intelligence,  spread- 
ing on  the  instant  with  extraordinary  rapidity, 
was  hailed  with  joy  by  all  the  emigrants. 

But  the  Count  did  not  linger  at  Mons ;  at 
eleven  o'clock  he  set  out  again  for  the  Bel- 
gian Luxemburg,  being  anxious  to  get  near  to 
Montmedy.  After  a  whole  day's  journey  in 
fine  but  rather  cold  weather,  very  different  from 
the  sultry  heat  to  which  the  captives  were  ex- 
posed on  their  forced  return  to  Paris,  he  arrived 
at  Arlon  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night. 

He  was  passing  through  the  town  on  his 
way  to  learn  the  news,  when  he  accidentally 
met  the  Marquis  de  Bouille  face  to  face.  The 
mere  sight  of  the  General  instantly  revealed 
the  terrible  truth.  All  was  over  then — the 
flight  had  failed.  Bouille  told  him  how  the 
King  had  been  stopped,  and  related  some  of  the 
deplorable   incidents  which  had  ruined  every- 


2ia  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEI^" 

thing  within  a  few  leagues  of  the  goal ;  but 
the  General  could  not  give  him  all  the  details 
of  the  disaster ;  he  was  ignorant  of  most  of 
them  himself.  However,  he  knew  enough  to 
inform  Count  Fersen  that  the  detachments  had 
not  done  their  duty,  as  Count  Fersen  had 
only  too  clearly  foreseen,  and  that  the  King 
had  "  failed  in  firmness  and  sense,"  as  he  might 
easily  have  foretold. 

Fersen,  who  was  overwhelmed  by  the  news, 
sent  a  hasty  despatch  to  the  King  of  Sweden, 
informing  him  of  the  fatal  result  of  the  enter- 
prise, and  immediately  afterwards  wrote  to  his 
father  in  the  following  words,  which  reveal  all 
his  grief : — 

"  Arlon,  22d  of  June  1791,  at  midnight. 

"  All  is  lost,  my  dear  father,  and  I  am  in 
despair.  The  King  was  stopped  at  Varennes, 
within  sixteen  leagues  of  the  frontier.  Judge 
what  my  grief  is,  and  feel  for  me.  M.  de  Bouille, 
who  is  here,  has  told  me  this  news.  I  am  start- 
ing at  once  for  Brussels,  to  convey  to  Count 
de  Mercy  the  letters  which  the  King  intrusted 
to  me.  I  have  time  only  to  assure  you  of  my 
respect  and  my  love. 

"  Axel  Fersen." 

By  this  we  see  that  he  bore  in  mind  the 
injunction  of  the  King  and  Queen  at  his  last 
interview  with  them  at  the  Tuileries,  only  three 
days  previously,  that  he  should  go  to  Brussels, 
if  they  were  stopped,  and  have  action  taken  for 
them.    This  was  a  formidable  mission,  for  he 


r 


BEUSSELS  213 

would  have  to  appeal  to  foreign  sympathies, 
and  might  find  that  where  good-will  existed 
power  did  not,  and  that  in  some  cases  there  was 
neither  good-will  nor  power. 

But  the  Swede  heeded  nothing  of  that  kind ; 
difficulties,  of  whatever  nature,  could  not  deter 
him.  At  half-past  four  in  the  morning  of 
the  24th  he  left  Arlon.  At  Namur  he  met 
Monsieur,  who  was  more  elated  by  his  own 
good-luck  than  troubled  by  his  brother's  ill- 
fortune.  On  the  following  day,  at  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  he  re-entered  Brussels,  and 
proceeded  at  once  to  the  Bellevue  Hotel,  where 
the  Comte  de  Mercy- Argenteau  had  resided  since 
his  departure  from  France. 

He  did  not  find  the  Comte  de  Mercy,  but  left 
the  Kjng's  letter  for  him,  and  made  his  escape 
with  difficulty  from  the  eager  questioning  of 
all  the  people  who  were  in  the  hotel.  In  the 
evening  he  succeeded  in  seeing  the  Austrian 
Ambassador.  The  impression  which  he  derived 
from  his  conversation  with  him  was  not  favour- 
able. "He  takes  the  gloomiest  view"  (il  voit 
noir)  is  the  entry  in  the  Count's  journal.  How 
should  it  have  been  otherwise  ?  Mercy  was  an 
old  politician  ;  for  two  years  he  had  been  in  close 
contact  with  the  European  sovereigns  and  the 
emigrants  ;  only  a  large  amount  of  confidence 
and  self-delusion  could  have  led  him  to  hope 
much  from  the  former,  and  to  expect  much  from 
the  latter.  In  spite  of  everything,  the  young 
Swede  was  of  a  difierent  mind.  He  was  not 
a  politician,  but  a  man  with  a  heart,  and  his 
determination   to    act   had  other  and  stronger 


a  14  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

stimulants  than  those  which  would  have  affected 
the  old  Ambassador. 

If  his  zeal  had  required  to  be  reanimated, 
two  little  notes  which  reached  him  from  Paris 
would  have  stirred  it  up.  But  was  there  any 
need  ?  What  must  have  been  his  joy  on  receiv- 
ing these  few  lines,  written  by  Marie  Antoinette 
on  the  28th  of  June  : — 

"  Be  at  ease  about  us  ;  we  are  alive.  The 
heads  of  the  Assembly  seem  inclined  to  behave 
with  some  kindness.  Speak  to  my  relations 
about  taking  steps  from  the  outside ;  if  they 
are  afraid,  terms  must  be  made  with  them." 

The  following  day  a  second  note,  more  touch- 
ing and  affectionate,  brought  him  a  repetition 
of  the  assurances  which  made  him  happy. 

"  I  exist  ....  how  anxious  I  have  been 
about  you,  and  how  I  grieve  for  all  you  are 
suffering  from  having  no  news  of  us.  May 
Heaven  permit  this  to  reach  you.  Do  not  write 
to  me ;  it  would  endanger  you,  and  above  all, 
do  not  come  back  here  under  any  pretext. 
It  is  know^n  that  it  was  you  who  got  us  out 
of  this  place  ;  all  would  be  lost  if  you  appeared. 
We  are  closely  watched  night  and  day.  I  do 
not  mind  that.  ...  Be  tranquil ;  nothing  will 
happen  to  me.  The  Assembly  wishes  to  treat 
us  gently.  Adieu  ...  I  shall  no  longer  be 
able  to  write  to  you.  ..." 

This  note  was  written  in  cipher  like  the 
first,  and  was  transcribed  from  the  cipher  by 
Fersen,  who  wrote  on  the  margin,  "The  4th 
of  July  1 79 1,  probably  the  day  of  reception." 
It  is  reproduced  here  exactly  as  it  is  given  in 


COUNTESS  GYLDENSTOLE  215 

the  work  entitled  Le  Comte  de  Fersen  et  la 
Cour  de  France.  Were  the  suppressed  pas- 
sages, marked  by  dots,  left  out  by  Fersen  him- 
self— that  he  did  use  suppression  sometimes 
we  shall  see  hereafter — or  by  those  persons 
who  undertook  the  publication  of  his  papers? 
The  latter  supposition  seems  in  this  instance 
most  likely,  as  we  do  not  find  the  footnote 
which  the  editors  have  been  careful  to  attach 
to  another  letter  written  by  Marie  Antoinette 
to  Count  Fersen  on  the  26th  of  September 
1791. 

Why  then  are  these  passages  suppressed  ? 
Here  we  are  reminded  of  a  note  inserted  by 
Feuillet  de  Conches  in  the  preface  to  the  third 
volume  of  his  Louis  XVI.,  Marie  Antoinette 
et  Madame  Elisabeth :  "  Nearly  three  years 
ago  I  had  the  honour  to  meet  Count  Fersen's 
grand-daughter,  the  Countess  Gyldenstole,  and 
I  inquired  of  her  whether  there  were  any 
letters  from  Queen  Marie  Antoinette  addressed 
to  Count  Fersen,  among  her  family  papers. 
She  assured  me  that  the  collection  did  not 
include  even  the  merest  note  in  the  hand- 
writing of  the  Queen,  and  also  that  all  her 
kin  cherished  a  profound  respect,  indeed  a 
sort  of  traditional  reverence,  for  that  supreme 
sujfferer. 

' '  Since  then,  a  grand-nephew  of  the  same  Swedish 
nobleman  (Count  Fersen),  M.  de  Klinckowstrom, 
recently  secretary  to  the  Swedish  Legation  in 
Austria,  and  now  settled  at  Stockholm,  has  had 
the  statement  that  neither  in  the  Gyldenstole 
branch  of  the  family  nor  in  his  own  did  they 


2i6  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

possess  any  written  memorial  of  the  Queen  con- 
firmed to  me  by  the  French  Minister  to  the  Court 
of  Sweden,  M.  Fournier.  A  pres^imption  stroiiger 
than  truth  will  have  it  that  such  memorials  do 
exist.  Can  it  be  that  this  presumption  is  sup- 
ported by  any  exception  ?  "  The  above  note  was 
written  in  1865.  Twelve  years  later,  a  grand- 
nephew  of  Count  Fersen,  Baron  Klinckow- 
strom — is  he  the  same  of  whom  Feuillet  de 
Conches  speaks? — published  in  the  extracts 
from  his  grand-uncle's  papers  eleven  unquestion- 
ably authentic  letters  written  by  Count  Fersen 
in  1 79 1,  and  seventeen  written  in  1792. 

Were  these  letters  known  to  the  family  in 
1865  ?  had  it  been  agreed  that  they  were  to  be 
kept  secret,  and  was  the  resolution  rescinded 
afterwards  ?  Is  the  discovery  of  them  recent  ? 
These  are  idle  questions,  impossible  of  solu- 
tion by  us.  What  it  imports  us  to  observe 
is  that  "  presumption  "  is  stronger  in  the  case 
than  denial,  and  that  it  only  outstripped  the 
truth. 

All  this  would  perhaps  authorise  us  to  supply 
the  missing  passages,  and  would  guide  us  in 
our  suppositions,  but  to  what  end  ?  Silence  is 
sometimes  very  eloquent ;  let  those  understand 
who  will. 

In  the  Queen's  note  as  we  have  it,  mutilated 
though  it  be,  we  can  discern  a  sentiment  which 
is  not  gratitude  only,  and  how  delicately  is  that 
sentiment  expressed  !  That  friend  who  grieves 
"  for  all  he  suffers  in  having  no  news  of  them," 
well  knows  the  heart  to  which  she  speaks  !  How 
anxiously  she  assures  him  concerning  her  fate  I 


MADAME  DE  POLIGITAC  217 

"  Be  tranquil ;  nothing  will  happen  to  me." 
And  how  sad  is  that  "  Adieu,"  and  her  inti- 
mation that  she  "  will  no  longer  be  able  to 
write "  to  him  whose  love  consoles  and  sustains 
her ! 

Of  a  surety  that  friend  "without  reproach," 
that  confidant,  and  accomplice  "  without  fear," 
well  deserved  that  she  should  treat  him  thus. 
The  comparison  which  the  unfortunate  Marie 
Antoinette  was  forced  to  draw  between  him 
and  others  can  only  have  endeared  the  noble 
Swedish  gentleman  to  her. 

A  few  weeks  later  Count  Fersen  met  Mme. 
de  Polignac.  "  I  felt  both  pleasure  and  pain 
on  seeing  her,"  he  says.  It  might  be  supposed 
that  her  feelings  would  be  similar  on  finding 
herself  once  more  with  the  friend  of  her  friend, 
talking  of  her  whom  she  ought  not  to  have 
forgotten,  her  whose  fate  should  have  touched 
her  the  more  deeply  in  that  the  excessive 
favours  which  Marie  Antoinette  had  lavished 
upon  her  had  cost  the  unfortunate  Queen  her 
popularity. 

Mme.  de  Polignac  did  not  even  resort  to  a 
pretence  of  gratitude.  If  she  wept  on  seeing 
Fersen,  her  tears  were  very  transient. 

"  She  talked  more  about  affairs  than  of  the 
Queen,"  says  Fersen ;  "  she  said  a  thousand 
things."  And  of  those  things  some  were  not 
favourable  to  the  royal  family.  The  situation, 
between  the  King  detained  in  Paris  and  the 
Princes  free  in  a  foreign  land,  was  naturally 
strained  ;  the  latter  were  glad  to  forget  their 
brother's  peril  in  their  own  safety,  and  ready 


2i8  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

to  put  themselves  forward  while  incurring  no 
risk,  caring  not  at  al]  how  much  they  might 
endanger  the  King.  The  ardour  of  the  Comte 
d'Artois  was  particularly  formidable.  Mme. 
de  Polignac  was  for  the  Princes,  and  "  dis- 
approved the  suspicion  with  which  they  were 
regarded  by  certain  persons."  His  first  inter- 
view inspired  Fersen  with  a  poor  opinion  of  the 
favourite ;  he  met  her  again  in  the  apartment 
of  the  Comte  d'Artois,  where  M.  de  Calonne 
appeared  in  his  nightcap,  whereat  they  were 
mightily  amused.  A  third  meeting  failed  to  alter 
his  impression  : — "  I  have  seen  the  Duchesse  de 
Polignac ;  she  constantly  talks  of  affairs,  but 
seldom  of  her  friend." 

Very  different  was  the  sweet  and  noble 
Princesse  de  Lamballe,  whom  Marie  Antoinette 
had  sacrificed  to  the  Polignac.  While  the  latter 
cheerfully  consented  to  place  herself  and  her 
goods  in  safety,  the  former,  who  was  travelling 
abroad,  conceived  that  the  duty  of  a  friend, 
even  though  neglected,  and  even  though  for- 
saken, was  to  adhere  to  those  whom  she  had 
loved  in  their  evil  fortune,  and  she  returned 
to  France  prepared  to  confront  the  perils  from 
which  the  other  had  fled. 

Doubtless  she  had  not  a  very  bright  intellect, 
and  her  presence  was  not  likely  to  be  of  much 
use.  Fersen  saw  her  at  Brussels,  and  met  her 
at  a  dinner  given  by  Mrs.  Sullivan.  Her  con- 
versation did  not  please  him  ;  he  passes  a  rather 
harsh  judgment  upon  it,  summing  it  up  as  "  silly 
gossip."  But  the  woman  had  a  heart,  and,  as 
she  obeyed  its  impulses,  her  conduct  was  noble 


IVIEAN  AIs^D  BASE  JEALOUSY  219 

and  generous  ;  she  resumed  that  place  with  the 
Queen  which  Mme.  de  Polignac  had  usurped, 
only  to  suffer,  to  weep,  and  to  die. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  all 
the  emigrants  were  thinking  only  of  a  return 
of  good  fortune  for  the  King,  the  Queen,  and 
the  cause  of  legitimate  monarchy,  to  which  they 
were  supposed  to  be  devoted.  It  would  appear 
to  us  that  in  the  face  of  the  great  events  then 
taking  place,  and  the  growing  danger  that 
threatened  the  old  social  order,  they  should 
all  have  united  in  order  to  secure  a  triumph. 
This  was  surely  imperative  !  Nothing,  however, 
is  more  sad  to  record  than  the  mean  and 
base  jealousy  of  those  expatriated  Frenchmen. 
Many  of  them  openly  desired  that  the  Comte 
d'Artois  should  assume  the  leadership  of  the 
party,  and  for  this  reason  the  captivity  of  the 
King  and  Queen,  which  left  them  a  free  hand, 
was  far  from  displeasing  to  them.  They  even 
ventured  to  rejoice  openly  in  it,  as  we  learn 
from  Fersen,  who  writes,  "  There  is  an  indecent 
joy  here  among  our  party  at  the  arrest  of  the 

He  did  not  conceal  his  indignation,  and 
when  certain  persons,  with  the  importunate 
eagerness  of  mere  curiosity,  tried  to  elicit  from 
him  the  details  of  the  event  which  had  over- 
whelmed him  with  grief,  he  describes  himself 
as  "  disgusted  by  the  sight  of  them." 

Sad  news  came  to  him  from  Paris !  "The 
King  and  Queen  of  France  are  closely  watched ; 
all  the  doors  are  open ;  guards  are  placed  in 
the    room    next    to    the    bed-chamber.      The 


2  20  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

doors  are  shut  for  a  moment  only  while  the 
King's  shirt  is  put  on ;  when  she  (the  Queen) 
is  in  bed,  the  guards  come  several  times  during 
the  night  to  make  sure.  Never  alone.  They 
must  not  speak  low.  No  one  can  enter  the 
chateau  without  tickets  from  Lafayette  and  the 
Mayor." 

It  was  not  known  at  Brussels  that  the 
King  was  in  a  state  of  physical  prostration. 
This  had  set  in  immediately  upon  his  return 
to  Paris.  The  repeated  entry  in  his  journal, 
"  Nothing  at  all,"  during  the  last  days  of 
June,  was  the  exact  definition  of  what  the 
King  of  France  himself  had  become.  He  was 
even  more  inert  than  indifierent  ;  he  was 
only  the  shadow  of  his  former  self,  and 
remained  for  days  together  without  uttering 
a  word. 

What  a  spectacle  for  the  Queen !  "What 
were  her  sufferings  as  a  mother?  As  a  wife, 
her  misery  was  aggravated  by  the  conduct 
of  him  who  ought  to  have  consoled,  supported, 
and  protected  her.  But  no ;  her  husband 
was  no  longer  a  King ;  he  was  no  longer 
even  a  man ;  and  an  hour  was  drawing  near 
in  which  the  Queen,  in  her  indignation  and 
shame  at  his  weakness,  was  to  make  one 
supreme  effort  to  rouse  him  out  of  his  torpor, 
throwing  herself  at  his  feet  in  an  agonised 
appeal  to  his  affection  and  his  courage,  and 
using  those  memorable  words :  "If  we  must 
perish,  at  least  let  it  be  with  honour;  let 
us  not  wait  for  them  to  come  and  strangle 
us  both  on  the  floor  of  our  room  ! " 


U:t^AVAILING  EQUIVOCATION-  221 

But  although  she  succeeded  in  restoring  a 
temporary  appearance  of  courage  to  the  un- 
fortunate King  by  her  strength  of  will, 
she  was  powerless  to  inspire  him  with  the 
dignity  which  their  terrible  position  de- 
manded. 

The  National  Assembly  had  appointed  three 
of  its  members,  Tronchet,  Duport,  and  d' Andre, 
to  receive  explanations  concerning  his  abduc- 
tion {enlevement)  from  Louis  himself;  for,  by 
a  fiction  which  did  not  deceive  anybody,  but 
still  permitted  Louis  to  preserve  the  character 
and  the  place  which  he  held  under  the  Con- 
stitution, it  was  pretended  that  he  had  only 
yielded  to  the  will  of  his  enemies  in  leaving 
Paris.  His  reply  was  as  pitiful  as  it  was 
impolitic. 

In  this  document  he  assigns  the  outrages 
to  which  he  and  his  family  were  subjected 
on  the  1 8th  of  April,  and  the  impunity  of 
the  various  publications  which  had  afterwards 
led  to  the  violence  done  to  his  person,  as 
the  causes  of  his  departure  from  Paris.  He 
had  no  intention  of  leaving  France ;  he  had 
not  planned  his  journey  with  the  foreign 
Powers,  or  with  his  relations,  or  with  any 
of  the  French  emigrants ;  one  of  his  chief 
motives  was  to  refute  the  statement  that  he 
was  not  free ;  he  had  never  made  any  pro- 
test except  that  which  he  had  left  for  the 
National  Assembly  on  the  day  of  his  depar- 
ture. .  .  .  He  had  not  thought  it  possible 
to  ascertain  the  public  mind  with  certainty 
in   the   middle   of  Paris ;   but  on  his  journey 


222  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

lie  had  ascertained  tliat  it  was  favourable  to 
the  Constitution.  ...  So  soon  as  he  learned 
what  the  public  feeling  really  was,  he  had 
sacrificed  his  personal  interests  without  hesi- 
tation to  the  welfare  of  the  people,  and  he 
would  gladly  forget  all  the  annoyances  (des- 
agreme.nts)  that  he  had  undergone  if  he  could 
secure  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  nation. 

Marie  Antoinette  was  also  interrogated,  and 
she  made  the  following  declaration  : — 

"The  King  being  desirous  to  go  away  with 
his  children,  nothing  in  nature  could  have 
prevented  me  from  accompanying  him.  I  have 
sufficiently  proved  for  two  years  past  that  I 
would  never  leave  him.  That  which  made 
me  still  more  determined  was  the  positive 
assurance  that  the  King  did  not  intend  to 
go  out  of  the  kingdom ;  if  he  had  desired  to 
do  so,  I  would  have  done  all  in  my  power  to 
prevent  him." 

That  these  declarations  did  not  carry  convic- 
tion of  their  truth  to  anybody  was  their  least 
defect.  If  the  King  had  no  intention  of  going 
abroad,  should  need  arise,  why  had  he  selected 
a  place  so  near  the  frontier  as  Montmedy  ? 
If  he  wanted  to  ascertain  the  public  mind,  why 
a  secret  departure  by  night,  and  why  the  hur- 
ried rate  of  travelling  ?  Objections  very  difficult 
to  refute  cropped  up  in  crowds. 

The  statements  of  the  King  and  Queen  were 
not  believed,  and  their  declaration  that  all 
of  the  persons  who  accompanied  them  were 
unaware  of  the  goal  of  the  journey  went  for 
nothing.      This    was   inevitable ;   when   it  was 


DECLAEATIONS  OF  INNOCENCE    223 

decided  that  tlie  principals  were  not  to  be 
brought  to  judgment,  the  subordinates  had  to 
be  arraigned  as  culprits. 

Warrants  were  immediately  issued  against 
MM.  de  Bouille,  Heyman,  Klinglin,  Desoteux, 
d'Andoins,  Bouille  the  younger,  Goguelat, 
Choiseul-Stainville,  Mandell,  Fersen,  "  Colonel 
of  Royal-Suedois,"  de  Valory,  de  Maldent,  and 
Du  Moustier,  body-guards.  These  persons  were 
sent  to  the  prison  at  Orleans,  and  afterwards 
brought  before  the  tribunal  of  that  city. 

M.  de  Danias,  and  Mesdames  de  Tourzel, 
Brunier,  and  de  Neuville  were  simply  ordered 
to  be  arrested  "  as  a  provisional  measure." 

Not  all  the  persons  named  in  the  indictment 
fell  into  the  hands  of  justice,  and  among  those 
who  were  arrested  there  was  considerable  diver- 
sity of  action.  All  the  of&cers  asserted  their 
innocence,  declaring  that  "  they  knew  nothing, 
and  had  done  nothing  but  obey."  Goguelat, 
who  had  displayed  so  much  courage  and  daring 
in  the  hour  of  danger,  endeavoured,  like  the 
others,  to  exculpate  himself.  "  He  pleaded  the 
orders  of  M.  de  Bouille  ;  he  said  that  he  had 
no  knowledge  of  what  was  taking  place ;  that 
he  had  only  heard  the  drum-call  to  arms  and 
the  ringing  of  the  alarm-bell,  and  heard  tell 
that  the  King  had  been  stopped  at  Varennes. 
He  owned  that  being  afraid  lest  he  might  be 
assailed  and  maltreated  by  the  people  as  an 
officer,  he  had  laid  aside  his  uniform,  and  was 
preparing  to  cross  the  frontier  at  the  moment 
of  his  arrest." 

Only  the  three  body-guards,  who  had  shown 


224  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

sucli  unfiincliing  courage  during  the  terrible 
return  from  Varennes  and  the  scene  at  the 
Tuileries,  still  stood  firm,  preserving  their  lofty 
and  valiant  bearing.  Far  from  shielding  them- 
selves under  the  pretext  of  the  King's  com- 
mands, they  boldly  laid  claim  to  the  peril  and 
the  honour  of  their  action. 

The  Marquis  de  Bouilld,  who  had  saved 
nothing  but  himself  in  this  fatal  adventure, 
conceived  the  unlucky  idea  of  writing  a  furious 
and  ridiculous  letter  to  the  National  Assembly 
from  Luxemburg,  where  he  had  found  a  safe 
refuge. 

He  assumed  the  entire  responsibility  of  the 
King's  flight,  thinking  to  attract  anger  and 
vengeance  to  himself,  who  was  beyond  the 
reach  of  either,  without  taking  into  account 
that  by  doing  so  he  made  Louis  out  a  puppet, 
without  either  mind  or  will  of  his  own. 

In  vain  did  he  assume  the  Bombastes  vein — 
"  I  desired  to  save  my  country,  I  desired  to 
save  my  King,  I  desired  to  save  his  family  : 
such  are  my  crimes.  You  will  answer  for  their 
lives — I  do  not  say  to  me,  but  to  all  the  kings  ! 
I  tell  you  that  if  a  hair  of  their  heads  be  hurt, 
there  will  shortly  be  left  not  one  stone  of  Paris 
upon  another ;  you  yourselves  shall  answer  for 
it  with  your  heads  ! 

"  I  know  the  roads ;  I  will  lead  the  foreign 
armies  !  .  .  ." 

The  Assembly  laughed  uproariously  at  threats 
uttered  by  a  general  whose  plans  had  been 
easily  frustrated  by  a  postmaster  and  a  few 
willing  citizens.     Still,  however,  Bouiiy  took  a 


DISPLEASUEE  OE  THE  EOYALISTS        225 

correct  view  of  the  situation  in  appealing  for 
the  rescue  of  the  King  to  foreign  armies  and 
to  the  community  of  interests  of  the  European 
sovereigns ;  for  royalty  could  only  be  saved 
from  the  outside  now.  The  most  effective 
of  the  monarchical  powers  had  quitted  France. 
"  The  nobility  and  the  clergy  were  on  the 
frontier."  Those  faithful  adherents  of  the 
monarchy  who  remained  in  the  country  were 
profoundly  depressed ;  and  worse  than  this, 
they  were  seriously  displeased  with  the  feeble 
King. 

All  those  valiant  and  devoted  men  who  had 
declined  to  follow  the  prompt  example  of  the 
Comte  d'Artois  by  flying  from  France,  had  been 
deeply  hurt  by  the  withholding  from  them 
of  the  royal  confidence.  They  understood,  of 
course,  that  it  was  impossible  to  divulge  the 
plan  to  everybody,  but  each  one  thought  an 
exception  might  have  been  made  in  his  own 
favour.  They  had  not  forsaken  the  King,  but 
here  was  the  King  forsaking  them  !  The  King 
was  among  the  emigrants  ! 

His  action  restored  their  liberty,  and  set  them 
free  from  the  last  tie  that  bound  them  to  the 
now  dangerous  soil  of  France.  The  bearing  of 
the  King,  when  he  was  brought  back  foiled 
and  repentant,  was  not  likely  to  eff'ace  these 
painful  impressions. 

A  similar  feeling  existed  among  the  Constitu- 
tionalists ;  there  was  no  mistake  at  all  about  it, 
the  King  had  broken  his  compact  with  the 
nation.  What  power  could  they  wield  hence- 
forth  against   the   current  which   was   driving 


226  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

the  Assembly,  even  against  its  own  will,  into 
the  assumption  of  supreme  authority?  A  few 
deputies  of  the  Right  resigned  their  seats. 
Three  hundred  and  fifteen  declared  that  they 
would  cease  to  take  part  in  all  deliberations 
whose  object  was  not  "  the  interests  of  the 
King's  person  and  of  the  royal  family."  This 
was  a  direct  and  unwise  acknowledgment  of 
powerlessness,  couched  in  a  phrase  which  de- 
ceived nobody. 

Louis,  who  was  incapable  of  the  manly  re- 
soluteness of  a  Henri  Quatre,  and  did  not 
dream  of  regaining  his  authority  over  his  re- 
bellious subjects,  had  but  one  resource — abdi- 
cation. He  never  thought  of  such  a  thing ! 
He  did  not  understand  anything  about  the 
great  movement  that  was  extending  to  the 
entire  people  ;  he  thought  he  could  fence  with 
it  and  trick  it,  and  he  condescended  to  assume 
the  appearance  of  acquiescence  in  that  which 
he  meant  to  defeat  to  the  utmost  of  his  power 
by  underhand  means.  These  were  perilous  and 
disloyal  tactics,  which  exposed  him  to  the  dis- 
grace of  receiving  a  humiliating  pardon  from 
his  worst  enemies,  and  led  to  the  loss  of  his 
life  after  the  loss  of  his  dignity. 

From  the  hour  of  his  arrival  at  Brussels, 
Count  Fersen's  mind  was  set  upon  obtaining 
the  support  of  all  the  united  sovereigns  for 
the  royal  family  of  France,  and  he  set  to  work 
without  delay. 

"  The  dreadful  misfortune  that  has  hap- 
pened must  entirely  change  the  progress  of 
affairs,"  he  wrote   to  Marie  Antoinette  on  the 


THE  ZEAL  OF  GUSTAVUS  HI.  227 

27th  of  June ;  "  and  if  the  resolution  to 
employ  the  agency  of  others,  being  no  longer 
able  to  act  in  person,  still  holds  good,  it  is 
necessary  to  recommence  negotiations,  and  to 
give  a  warrant  (plein  pouvoir)  to  that  effect. 
The  bulk  of  the  Powers  who  are  to  act  must  be 
great  enough  to  defy  resistance,  and  thus  to 
save  precious  lives.  Answers  must  be  given  to 
the  following  questions  : — 

"  I.  Is  it  desired  that  action  should  be  taken, 
notwithstanding  all  intimations  forbidding  it  ? 

"2.  Will  full  powers  be  given  to  Monsieur 
or  to  the  Comte  d'Artois  ? 

"3.  Is  it  desired  that  Baron  de  Breteuil 
should  be  employed  under  either  prince,  or 
would  consent  be  given  to  the  employment 
of  M.  de  Calonne,  or  would  the  choice  be 
left  to  him?" 

In  a  postscript,  dated  Aix-la-Chapelle,  he 
says  that  he  has  seen  the  King  of  Sweden, 
who  is  entirely  "  well-disposed."  He  adds, 
*'  I  am  well,  and  I  live  only  to  serve  you. 
Tell  me  whether  you  wish  action  to  be  taken 
for  you." 

Of  all  the  princes  then  reigning,  Gustavus 
III.  was  undeniably  the  warmest  advocate  of 
this  plan  for  the  defence  of  the  royal  family 
of  France.  He  had  embraced  the  cause  of 
monarchy  with  chivalrous  zeal,  and  his  great 
project  was  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
crusade  against  the  rebellious  French,  those 
rash  promoters  of  new  ideas,  and  subversive 
theories  fraught  with  danger  to  the  rights  of 
kings. 


228  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

Gustavus,  being  apprised  of  the  projected 
flight,  had  gone  to  Spa,  in  order  to  be  nearer 
to  the  news  and  also  to  the  fugitives,  if 
happily  they  should  succeed  in  crossing  the 
frontier ;  but  he  had  returned  to  Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle  when  Fersen  joined  him,  and  had  the 
satisfaction  of  finding  him  warmly  interested 
in  the  project  for  the  liberation  of  the  pri- 
soners of  the  Tuileries.  The  King,  wishing  to 
make  sure  of  the  co-operation  of  the  British 
Government,  proposed  to  send  Fersen  to  Eng- 
land, but  the  Count  declined  that  mission, 
and  proposed  Colonel  Crawford  in  his  stead. 
It  was  then  agreed  that  he  was  to  be  sent 
to  Vienna,  and  that  he  should  endeavour  to 
induce  the  Emperor  to  enter  into  the  coalition 
for  his  sister's  rescue. 

Count  Fersen  set  out  on  the  21st  of  July, 
and  passed  through  Coblentz,  where  he  saw 
Monsieur  and  the  Comte  d'Artois. 

Monsieur  was  reasonable,  listening  seriously 
to  what  was  said  to  him,  making  shrewd 
remarks,  without  compromising  himself,  and 
showing  proper  feeling  for  the  misfortunes  of 
his  kinsfolk.  The  Comte  d'Artois,  on  the  con- 
trary, assumed  the  heroic  tone,  would  not 
hearken  to  diplomatic  measures,  insisted  on  the 
rebels  being  put  down  by  force,  and  displayed 
a  fine  disdain  of  danger  that  was  to  be  incurred 
by  others.  Fersen  disposes  of  him  in  a  sen- 
tence :  "  D'Artois  talks  incessantly,  never  listens, 
is  cocksure  of  everything,  and  will  hear  of 
nothing  but  force.  No  negotiations  for  him." 
The   impetuous   Prince  found   an   auxiliary   in 


CALONXE  AGAIN  229 

M.  de  Calonne,  who  arrived  just  then  from 
England.  He  was  "all  damp,"  says  Fersen, 
for  his  carriage  had  been  overturned  into  the 
Rhine,  and  he  had  swam  ashore.  "Why  did 
he  not  stay  there  ? "  adds  the  Count.  And, 
indeed,  what  was  there  to  be  hoped  from 
this  man,  who  had  been  so  exasperated  by 
his  dismissal  that  he  had  become  the  accom- 
plice of  Madame  de  la  Motte,  whose  Memoires, 
abounding  in  infamous  accusations  against  the 
Queen,  were  inspired,  and  probably  dictated, 
by  him. 

Like  the  Comte  d'Artois,  Calonne  had  seen 
everything,  knew  everything,  and  spoke  like 
a  man  who  was  perfectly  sure  of  himself 
and  other  people.  According  to  him,  Eng- 
land "  would  respond  at  once  if  the  other 
Powers  took  any  steps."  What  was  to  be 
expected  from  a  man  who  perpetually  inter- 
rupted the  other  speakers  by  exclaiming,  "Ah ! 
I  have  a  sublime  idea,"  and  then  made  some 
absolutely  preposterous  proposal  ? 

Count  Fersen  left  Coblentz  for  Vienna  on 
the  27th.  On  his  arrival  he  learned  that  the 
Emperor  had  caused  it  to  be  intimated  to 
the  French  Ambassador,  M.  de  Noailles,  that 
he  must  not  appear  at  Court,  "his  master 
being  a  prisoner."  The  pretext  was  worthy 
of  the  prohibition — both  were  equally  wise  and 
politic. 

On  the  4th  of  August  he  obtained  audience 
of  Leopold  IL  He  might  have  supposed  him- 
self with  the  Comte  d'Artois.  "  The  Emperor 
speaks  much  and  listens  little,"  he  writes  in 
11 


230  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEE:N^ 

his  journal.  At  first  there  was  a  profusion 
of  protestations,  fervent  assurances  of  the 
Emperor's  devotion  to  the  cause  of  his  unfor- 
tunate sister ;  no  effort  of  his  to  come  to  her 
aid  should  be  wanting.  Count  Fersen  was 
enchanted,  but  he  soon  perceived  that  these 
fine  words  were  not  followed  by  deeds  to 
match — in  fact,  that  nothing  at  all  was  done. 
Nevertheless,  he  was  not  disheartened,  and 
on  the  removal  of  the  Court  to  Prague,  he 
followed.  There  again  he  was  received  in 
the  most  charming  and  gracious  way,  just 
at  first ;  after  a  while  there  was  a  decided 
change  of  tone.  Leopold  protested  that  his 
feeling-s  were  still  the  same,  but  he  had  to 
contend  with  the  views  of  his  Council ;  he  was 
only  the  echo  of  the  objections  which  he  was 
obliged  to  urge.  .  .  .  Presently  he  avoided 
receiving  the  envoy  of  Gustavus  III.,  and 
the  latter  had  to  acknowledge  that  Baron 
Taube  was  right  when  he  called  Leopold  "  the 
accursed  Florentine,"  and  to  own  that  he  had 
been  tricked  by  him.  Some  time  afterwards 
Taube  wrote  to  him  as  follows  : — "  I  have  told 
you  several  times,  my  friend,  that  we  were 
duped  by  the  Emperor.  .  .  .  He  wants  to 
mediate  hetiveen  the  King,  Queen,  and  the 
Assembly,  to  rule  France  through  the  former 
or  the  latter,  to  dismember  it,  and  to  keep 
up  anarchy  in  that  unhappy  country.  His 
oivn  sister  should  be  the  jirst  victim  of  this 
accursed  Florentine  if  he  saw  any  advantage 
to  be  gained  by  it." 

Baron  Taube   put   his   finger  boldly  on   the 


LEOPOLD'S  INSINCERITY  231 

sore  spot.  It  is  only  too  true,  and  the  course 
of  this  narrative  will  afford  convincing  proof 
of  the  fact,  that  the  Emperor  Leopold,  like 
most  of  the  other  European  sovereigns,  had 
no  clear  vision  of  what  was  happening  in 
France.  M.  de  Tocqueville  has  ably  defined 
the  state  of  mind  of  the  Princes  and  their 
Ministers :  "If  by  chance  they  tell  the  truth 
about  it  (the  French  Revolution)  it  is  uncon- 
sciously. The  principal  sovereigns  of  Ger- 
many, being  met  together  at  Pilnitz  in  1791, 
proclaim  that  the  peril  is  common  to  all  the 
old  Powers ;  .  .  .  but  in  reality  they  do  not 
believe  this.  The  private  documents  of  the 
time  make  it  evident  that  they  meant  it  only 
as  a  colourable  pretext  under  which  they  hid 
their  own  designs  from  the  public.  As  for 
them,  they  entirely  believed  that  the  French 
Revolution  was  but  a  local  and  transient  acci- 
dent, and  they  had  only  to  take  all  the  advan- 
tage they  could  out  of  it." 

The  struggle  between  the  " House  of  France" 
and  the  "  House  of  Austria  "  still  subsisted,  and 
the  latter  regarded  the  events  of  the  time  as  a 
means  of  defeating  the  former,  or  at  least  of 
humbling  it  for  a  long  time. 

The  Emperor  Leopold  could  not  be  a  sincere 
supporter  of  the  famous  plan  of  Gustavus  III., 
which  consisted  of  getting  together  an  army 
and  throwing  it  upon  the  coasts  of  Normandy. 
The  Emperor  was  quite  willing  to  mass  troops 
upon  the  frontier  for  the  purpose  of  assisting 
Louis  XVI.  to  get  away  from  Paris,  but  not 
to  reinstate  him  there  by  a  victory  in  arms. 


232  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Too  complete   a   success   would   liave  defeated 
his  own  secret  hopes. 

Gustavus  was,  in  fact,  beating  the  air.  In 
vain  did  he  address  to  Count  Fersen  a  Memo- 
randum for  the  inhabitants  of  Normandy,  and 
Instructive  Notes  upon  the  most  commodious 
and  suitable  point  for  the  landing  which  it  is 
proposed  to  effect  on  the  coast  of  Lower  Nor- 
mandy ;  not  a  voice  in  Europe  responded  to 
his  appeal,  and  the  mission  of  his  envoys  failed 
everywhere. 

Fersen  sorrowfully  admits  the  fact.  "  I  beg 
of  you,  my  friend,  to  tell  the  King  (of  Sweden) 
how  much  I  grieve  that  I  have  succeeded  so 
ill,"  he  wrote  to  Baron  Taube  on  the  20th 
of  September ;  "  the  hope  that  I  may  be  use- 
ful to  him  at  Brussels  is  a  little  consolation 
to  me." 

His  longing  for  news  from  France  had  much 
to  do  with  his  readiness  to  return  to  the 
frontier.  Several  weeks  had  elapsed  since  any 
intelligence  had  reached  him,  and  during  that 
time  serious  events  had  occurred.  The  Assembly 
had  completed  the  Constitution,  and  had  pre- 
sented it  to  the  King.  In  order  to  allow  him 
to  make  a  thorough  examination  of  the  docu- 
ment, the  restrictions  under  which  he  lived 
were  relaxed  to  a  certain  extent,  and  some 
measure  of  liberty  was  granted  him. 

After  a  few  days  of  reflection,  Louis  wrote 
to  the  Assembly  that  he  accepted  the  Consti- 
tution, and  undertook  to  have  it  carried  out. 
This  was  the  result  of  advice  which  had  been 
given  to  him   by  Lafayette,   Barnave,  Duport 


REVOLUTIOISTARY  EMIGKANTS  233 

du  Tertre,  the  LametL.  brothers,  and  Prince 
Kaunitz.  The  advice  of  the  latter  conveyed  the 
secret  desire  of  both  the  Emperor  and  himself. 
Count  Fersen  would  probably  have  been  more 
indignant  than  surprised  if  he  had  known 
this. 

The  news  of  the  King's  action  raised  a 
chorus  of  protest,  and  caused  great  displeasure 
abroad.  Since  Louis  had  sanctioned  the  Consti- 
tution, some  said  there  was  nothing  for  it  but 
to  let  him  try  the  experiment ;  while  the  more 
active  partisans  of  the  Princes  asserted  that  he 
was  not  entitled  to  renounce  his  rights,  and 
talked  of  nominating  the  Comte  de  Provence 
Regent  without  further  delay.  Thus  we  see 
that  the  emigrants  went  faster  than  the  Revo- 
lutionists ;  they  were  the  first  to  propose  the 
deposition  of  the  King  of  France. 

They  were  so  glad  to  lay  hold  of  any 
plausible  pretext  for  the  justification  of  their 
conduct  in  their  own  eyes,  that  they  accumu- 
lated grievances  against  the  royal  family,  and 
spread  the  report,  which  Fersen  notes  in  his 
journal,  that  the  Queen  "  allowed  herself  to  be 
led  by  Barnave." 

Appearances  might  indicate  this,  but  it  was 
not  the  case.  The  Queen  was,  in  fact,  playing 
a  double  game,  which  was  not  dangerous  only 
at  that  crisis  of  affairs. 

It  is  well  known  that  Barnave,  formerly  an 
adversary  of  the  Court,  had  been  won  over  to 
the  side  of  royalty  rather  by  the  woman  than 
by  the  Queen.  But  whatever  may  have  been 
the  motives  of  a  conversion  which  had  taken 


234  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEIS" 

place  during  the  return  from  Varennes  under 
the  eyes  of  Pdtion  (who  had  seen  nothing  of 
it),  Baniave  was  sincere  in  the  counsel  and  the 
support  which  he  gave  to  Louis  and  Marie 
Antoinette.  The  Queen  accepted  both  his 
counsel  and  his  support  with  the  private  in- 
tention of  using  them  to  divide  her  enemies, 
but  it  was  far  from  her  mind  to  conform  to  the 
policy  he  laid  down.  She  did  not  disguise  this 
from  her  familiar  friends.  Speaking  of  Barnave 
one  day  to  Mme.  Campan,  she  said  : — 

"  A  feeling  of  pride,  which  I  cannot  blame  in 
a  young  man  of  the  Third  Estate,  has  led  him 
to  approve  of  everything  that  smoothes  the  path 
to  honours  and  renown  for  the  class  to  which 
he  belongs.  If  power  ever  comes  back  again  to 
us,  Barnave's  pardon  is  written  beforehand  in 
our  hearts." 

Barnave's  pardon !  That  was  all  she  pro- 
mised to  him  who  was  sacrificing  himself  for 
her  sake  !  It  was  apparently  a  sufficient  reward 
for  the  devoted  service  of  "  a  young  man  of  the 
Third  Estate." 

The  Queen's  attitude  with  respect  to  Barnave 
was  consistent  in  every  way  with  her  previous 
conduct.  She  was  married  to  the  Dauphin 
when  a  child ;  she  could  not  love  her  new 
country  except  through  the  husband  who  had 
been  given  to  her,  and  he  was  not  capable  of 
making  the  little  Austrian  princess  love  either 
himself  or  France.  The  sentiments  with  which 
she  w^as  regarded  by  his  nearest  of  kin  as  well 
as  by  the  majority  of  the  Court  were  not  cal- 
culated to  modify  her  first  impressions. 


THE  QUEEN  A  TOOL  235 

And  so  it  was  that  the  daughter  of  Maria 
Theresa  continued  to  be  a  docile  instrument, 
at  first  in  the  hands  of  the  Empress  of  Ger- 
many, and  afterwards  in  those  of  her  brother 
Joseph.  On  two  occasions  she  gave  striking 
proofs  of  this ;  perhaps  it  may  be  well  to 
recall  these  incidents  of  political  history  in 
this  place. 

In  1778,  during  the  affair  of  the  Bavarian 
succession,  which  her  brother  had  brought 
about,  and  in  which  the  army  under  his  com- 
mand had  not  been  successful,  Marie  Antoinette 
made  several  attempts  to  sound  the  King,  or 
his  Ministers,  Maurepas  and  Vergennes,  so  that 
she  might  communicate  the  projects  and  the 
despatches  of  the  French  Cabinet  to  her  mother. 
When  Maria  Theresa  solicited  the  mediation 
of  France,  Marie  Antoinette  wrote  to  her : 
*'  I  have  every  motive  for  acting,  for  I  am 
quite  persuaded  that  the  glory  of  the  King 
and  the  good  of  France  are  concerned  in  this, 
without  reckoning  the  welfare  of  my  dear 
country"  (October  1778). 

Her  dear  country  !  Austria. 

In  1784,  when  her  brother  Joseph  laid  claim 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Scheldt  and  the  posses- 
sion of  Maestricht,  she  again  put  herself  for- 
ward and  endeavoured  to  influence  her  husband 
and  the  Ministers  in  his  interests.  She  kept 
him  acquainted  with  what  she  was  doing.  On 
the  22  nd  of  September  1784  she  wrote  :  "I  will 
not  contradict  you  about  the  short-sightedness 
of  our  Ministry.  I  have  spoken  of  it  more 
than  once  to  the  King,  but  it  would  be  neces- 


236  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

sary  to  know  him  to  understand  how  I  am  re- 
stricted in  means  and  resources  by  his  character 
and  his  prejudices.  He  is  naturally  taciturn  ; 
when  I  reproach  him  wdth  not  having  spoken 
to  me  about  certain  matters,  he  does  not  get 
angry,  but  he  seems  embarrassed,  and  some- 
times tells  me  simply  that  it  did  not  occur  to 
him  to  do  so.  M.  de  la  Vauguyon  alarmed 
him  about  the  control  his  wife  would  try  to 
exert  over  him,  and,  moreover,  his  black  soul 
took  pleasure  in  frightening  him  with  all  sorts 
of  phantoms  conjured  up  against  Austria.  M. 
de  Maurepas  thought  it  to  his  advantage  to 
keep  up  these  ideas  in  the  King's  mind.  M.  de 
Vergennes  pursues  the  same  plan,  and  probably 
makes  use  of  his  Foreign  Office  correspondence 
to  employ  treachery  and  lying.  I  have  spoken 
of  this  to  the  King  plainly  and  more  than 
once.  He  has  sometimes  answered  me  with 
displeasure,  and,  as  he  is  incapable  of  discus- 
sion, I  have  not  been  able  to  persuade  him 
that  his  Minister  was  either  self-deceived  or 
deceiving  him." 

M.  GefFroy  makes  the  following  remarks 
upon  this  quotation  : — 

"  In  concert  with  Mercy,  she  besets  Louis 
XVI.,  deceives  the  Ministers,  does  all  she  can 
to  get  promises  and  agreements  out  of  them 
in  the  presence  of  the  King,  whom  she  had 
previously  persuaded,  delays  the  couriers  while 
she  informs  her  brother  of  the  decisions 
which  they  will  bring,  and  so  gives  him  time 
to  guard  against  them.  And  when  Joseph  II. 
accepts    our   mediation,    it  is   she   who   makes 


THE  FIRST  DAUPHm  237 

the  conditions  to  be  proposed  to  France  more 
onerous,  and  she  does  this  in  a  quick,  business- 
like way,  indicating  the  obstinacy  of  a  rather 
crafty  mind.  This  sort  of  thing  goes  on  unin- 
terruptedly for  eighteen  months,  and  certainly 
cannot  be  called  a  refusal  to  interfere  in  political 
matters,  an  attitude  of  impartiality  with  respect 
to  the  interests  of  the  Austrian  Court." — (Marie 
Antoinette  et  les  documents  authentiques.) 

And  yet,  at  this  period,  the  Queen  of  France 
was  the  mother  of  a  Dauphin,  a  sweet  child, 
popularly  known  as  Chou-d' Amour,  so  pretty 
was  he,  and  whose  precocious  intelligence  was 
remarked  by  all  who  approached  him.  Baroness 
Oberkirch  has  related  a  pleasant  anecdote  of  the 
little  Dauphin.  On  one  occasion,  he  wanted  to 
buy  some  costly  toys,  but  he  was  not  allowed 
to  do  so.  In  the  evening,  when  he  was  sleepily 
lisping  his  prayers,  the  old  servant  who  had 
charge  of  him  thought  proper  to  administer  a 
little  lesson. 

*'  Monseigneur,"  said  he,  alluding  to  the  inci- 
dent of  the  toys,  "  you  must  ask  God  for  wisdom 
rather  than  for  wealth." 

"  My  dear  Joseph,"  replied  the  royal  child 
with  a  sly  look,  "  now  that  I  am  about  it,  I 
am  going  to  ask  Him  for  both." 

His  mother  dearly  loved  the  poor  little  boy, 
who  died  of  decline  in  1789,  just  as  the  evil 
days  set  in,  leaving  an  inheritance  of  woe  to  his 
younger  brother,  the  Due  de  Normandie ;  and 
yet  Marie  Antoinette,  as  we  see,  seems  to  have 
preferred  the  land  of  her  birth  to  that  over 
which  her  own  son  was  destined  to  reign. 


238  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Her  state  of  mind  being  such  as  we  know 
it  was,  is  it  surprising  that  she  should  have 
welcomed  the  succour  from  abroad  that  was 
offered  to  her,  especially  at  a  period  when  the 
howls  of  the  populace  and  their  demonstra- 
tions of  hatred  had  transformed  the  French 
nation,  in  her  sight,  into  a  formidable  assem- 
blage of  rebels  and  ruffians  ?  She  knew  only  what 
she  had  been  taught  of  the  rights  of  kings,  of  the 
rights  of  peoples  she  was  wholly  ignorant ;  and 
this  being  feo,  she  might  very  naturally  con- 
sider herself  in  an  attitude  of  legitimate  de- 
fence, and  be  unconscious  that  she  was  guilty 
of  high  treason  against  the  country  in  calling 
the  arms  of  foreign  sovereigns  to  her  aid. 

Many  excuses  may,  indeed,  be  made  for  her, 
but  that  excuse  which  ought  to  absolve  her 
completely  before  impartial  posterity  is  that 
the  King  of  France  was  her  accomplice — he, 
who  could  not  plead  that  he  was  of  foreign 
birth,  and  whose  very  title  indicated  the  plain 
path  of  his  duty. 

As  for  Count  Fersen,  he  had  no  scruples 
to  overcome ;  although  he  was  colonel  of  a 
French  regiment,  he  had  never  regarded 
himself  as  in  the  service  of  the  nation,  but 
solely  in  the  service  of  the  King,  and  his  na- 
tionality entitled  him  to  act  against  France 
at  his  own  risk  and  peril.  Even  though 
his  ever-living  love  for  Marie  Antoinette  had 
not  induced  him  to  make  every  effort  to 
save  the  Queen  from  the  terrible  fate  which 
threatened  her,  his  high  sense  of  honour 
would  have  driven  him  into  action.      On  the 


COUNT  FEESEN'S  FIDELITY  239 

20th  August  1 79 1  lie  wrote  to  his  father  from 
Vienna  as  follows  : — "  The  confidence  with 
which  I  have  been  honoured  by  the  King 
and  Queen  of  France  makes  it  my  duty  not 
to  abandon  them  under  the  present  circum- 
stances, but  still  to  serve  them  so  long  as 
my  services  can  avail.  I  should  be  condemned 
by  everybody  were  I  to  act  otherwise.  I 
alone  have  been  admitted  to  their  confidence, 
and  I  can  still  serve  them,  because  I  am  in 
full  possession  of  their  position,  their  inten- 
tions, and  the  affairs  of  France.  I  should 
everlastingly  reproach  myself  with  having  con- 
tributed to  place  them  in  their  present  unfor- 
tunate situation,  if  I  did  not  employ  all  the 
resources  I  possess  to  rescue  them  from  it. 
Such  conduct  would  be  unworthy  of  your  son." 

For  two  years  after  this,  Count  Fersen,  faith- 
fully adhering  to  his  intention,  was  the  chief 
secret  agent  between  the  Tuileries  and  foreign 
Courts.  He  was  the  centre  of  correspondence  ; 
it  was  he  who  held  all  the  threads  of  the 
schemes,  interventions,  and  negotiations  in 
which  the  captive  royal  family  were  concerned ; 
and  his  action — completely  unknown  at  that 
period,  and  hardly  suspected  twenty  years  ago — 
but  now  clearly  revealed,  through  the  publica- 
tion of  his  papers,  or  at  least  such  of  them  as 
his  descendants  have  thought  proper  to  make 
known — throws  an  entirely  new  light  upon  this 
period  of  our  history. 

When  we  recall  the  precautions  that  were 
taken  against  the  King  and  Queen  and  their 
surroundings,  it  seems  almost   impossible  that 


240  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

they  could  have  corresponded  with  their  friends 
on  the  outside.  The  watch  kept  over  them 
was  not  limited  to  their  persons ;  it  extended 
to  everything  that  came  into  the  Tuileries, 
and  everything  that  went  out  of  the  Tuileries. 
How  then  did  they  contrive  to  receive  and 
send  out  letters  which  escaped  the  eyes,  the 
search,  the  suspicion,  and  the  inimical  activity 
of  their  guards  ? 

Human  intelligence  has  wonderful  resources, 
and  the  prisoner  is  almost  invariably  more 
clever  and  more  cunning  than  his  jailer.  This 
was  proved  in  the  case  of  the  Queen.  Before 
she  was  separated  from  Count  Fersen  she  had 
arranged  a  cipher  with  him  ;  their  letters  would 
have  kept  the  secret  of  their  contents,  even 
had  they  fallen  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies. 
They  also  adopted  the  device  of  writing  with 
invisible  ink  between  the  lines  of  an  insignifi- 
cant correspondence. 

The  modes  of  despatch  were  of  various  sorts. 
Sometimes  the  letters  were  confided  to  trust- 
worthy persons,  like  Baron  de  Goguelat,  who 
had  recovered  his  liberty  under  the  terms  of 
an  amnesty  granted  to  the  King  in  exchange 
for  his  acceptation  of  the  Constitution,  the 
Chevalier  d'Eclans,  a  gentleman  of  Franc- 
Comtois,  and  a  Constitutional  deputy,  or  his 
friend  Terrier-Monciel.  Sometimes  the  papers 
were  hidden  in  a  box  of  biscuits,  in  a  packet 
of  tea  or  chocolate ;  in  the  lining  of  a  gar- 
ment, or  in  the  binding  of  revolutionary  works. 
The  persons  for  whom  they  were  ostensibly 
destined  were  mostly  foreigners.      At  Brussels 


IMPEUDENT  DISCRETIOIT  241 

it  was  Colonel  Crawford,  or  "  his  pretended 
Madame  Crawford "  (Mrs.  Sullivan).  Some- 
times tliey  were  addressed  poste  restante  to 
"M.  I'Abbe  de  Beauverin."  It  was  the  same 
thing  in  Paris,  but  during  the  whole  of  this 
correspondence,  the  safest  messenger  and  the 
most  often  employed  was  Goguelat. 

We  have  read  the  notes  that  were  exchanged 
between  Marie  Antoinette  and  Count  Fersen 
a  few  days  after  the  Varennes  incident. 

Two  months  elapsed,  during  which  they  had 
no  news  of  each  other,  then  communication 
was  re-established,  and  the  half-political,  half- 
private  correspondence  began.  A  great  many 
passages  of  this  are  missing.  Some  of  these 
were  suppressed  by  Fersen  himself,  who  was 
imprudently  discreet  in  this  matter,  for  it 
allows  more  than  the  truth  to  be  suspected. 
The  following  letter  from  Marie  Antoinette, 
written  on  the  26th  September,  is  interesting 
from  more  than  one  point  of  view : — 

"  Your  letter  of  the  28th  has  reached  me. 
For  two  months  I  have  had  no  news  of  you ; 
no  one  could  tell  me  where  you  were.  I 
should  have  written,  if  I  had  known  her  ad- 
dress, to  Sophie  (Sophie  was  Countess  Piper, 
Count  Fersen's  sister) ;  she  would  have  told 
me  where  you  were."  (Here  eight  lines  are 
obliterated  from  the  deciphered  copy.)  "Our 
position  is  changed  since  the  King's  accept- 
ance (of  the  Constitution).  To  refuse  it  would 
have  been  more  noble,  but  this  was  impossible 
under  our  circumstances.  I  would  have  wished 
the    acceptance    to    be    simpler    and    shorter, 


242  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

but  it  is  our  misfortune  to  have  only  scoun- 
drels about  us.  Yet  I  can  assure  you  the 
measure  which  has  been  passed  is  the  least  of 
evils ;  you  will  be  able  to  judge  of  this  one 
day,  for  I  keep  for  you  all  that  has  .  .  . 
(here  a  passage  is  missing)  been  there.  I  am 
happy  to  recover,  since  there  are  papers  of 
yours. 

"  The  follies  of  the  Princes  and  the  emi- 
grants have  also  forced  our  hand.  It  was 
essential  to  remove  all  doubt  of  our  good 
faith  by  accepting.  We  think  that  the  best 
means  to  weary  them  out  with  all  this  is  to 
seem  to  enter  fully  into  it;  that  will  show 
very  soon  that  nothing  can  be  done.  And 
then,  notwithstanding  the  letter  which  my 
brothers  have  written  to  the  King,  and  which, 
by -the -bye,  has  failed  to  produce  the  effect 
which  they  hoped  from  it,  I  do  not  see,  espe- 
cially from  the  declaration  of  Pilnitz,  that  the 
foreign  succour  is  so  very  prompt.  This  is 
perhaps  as  well,  because  the  more  we  advance, 
the  more  these  wretches  will  feel  their  mis- 
fortunes. I  fear  that  the  hot  heads  may 
induce  your  King  to  do  something  which  will 
compromise  him,  and  consequently  us ;  a  great 
deal  of  prudence  is  necessary.  I  am  going  to 
write  to  M.  de  Mercy. 

"  So  soon  as  you  arrive  at  Brussels,  let 
me  know.  I  will  write  to  you  quite  simply, 
for  I  have  a  sure  means  always,  at  my  dis- 
posal. You  could  not  believe  how  much  all 
that  I  am  doing  just  now  costs  me,  and 
besides,  these  wretched  men  who  say  they  are 


FERSEN'S  REPLY  TO  THE  QUEEN         243 

attached  to  us  and  have  never  done  us  any- 
thing but  harm,  are  quite  mad  at  the  present 
time.  At  this  moment  they  are  furious.  It 
seems  that  one's  mind  ought  to  be  base  enough 
to  take  pleasure  in  what  one  is  obliged  to 
do ;  ...  it  is  their  (obliterated  line  here)  .  .  , 
and  their  conduct  which  has  dragged  us  into 
our  present  position,  I  have  only  one  happi- 
ness ;  it  is  seeing  all  those  gentlemen  who 
were  imprisoned  for  us,  especially  M.  de  Gogue- 
lat,  w^ho  is  perfectly  reasonable ;  his  head  has 
grown  cool  in  prison.     Adieu  ! " 

Count  Fersen  received  this  letter  on  the 
8th  October.  Two  days  afterwards  he  re- 
plied to  it : — 

"I  have  at  length  come  back.  I  am  sorry 
that  you  have  been  forced  to  sanction  (the 
Constitution) ;  but  I  feel  your  position ;  it  is 
dreadful,  and  there  was  nothing  else  to  be 
done.  The  Imp.  (Empress  of  Eussia),  the 
Kings  of  Prussia,  Sardinia,  Norway  and  Sweden 
are  all  right,  especially  the  three  first.  Sweden 
will  sacrifice  herself  for  you ;  England  has 
assured  us  of  her  neutrality.  The  Emperor 
is  the  least  willing ;  he  is  weak  and  indis- 
creet." Then  he  goes  into  the  means  to  be 
taken,  and  puts  several  questions  to  the  Queen. 
"  I  St.  Do  you  intend  to  go  sincerely  into  the 
Ee volution,  and  do  you  think  there  is  no  other 
course  open  ?  2nd.  Do  you  wish  to  be  assisted, 
or  do  you  wish  that  all  negotiations  with  the 
Courts  should  be  relinquished  ?  3rd.  Have 
you  a  plan,  and  what  is  it?  Pardon  all  these 
questions.      I  flatter  myself  that  you  will  re- 


244  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

cognise  in  them  only  my  desire  to  serve  you, 
and  a  proof  of  my  unbounded  attachment  and 
devotion." 

The  accusation  of  allowing  herself  to  be  led 
by  Barnave  and  some  of  the  Constitutionalists 
is  distinctly  repelled  by  Marie  Antoinette  in 
her  letter  of  the  1 9th  October. 

"  Make  your  mind  easy ;  I  am  not  going 
over  to  the  extremists.  If  I  see  or  have 
relations  with  any  of  them,  it  is  only  to  make 
use  of  them.  They  inspire  me  with  too  much 
horror  for  me  ever  to  belong  to  their  party. 
You  say  nothing  to  me  of  your  health ;  mine 
is  good."  (Here  a  passage  is  suppressed.) 
Then  the  Queen  resumes.  "  The  French  are 
atrocious  on  every  side;  we  must  take  care  that 
if  those  who  are  here  get  the  advantage,  and 
that  we  have  to  live  with  them,  they  cannot  re- 
proach us  with  anything.  We  must  also  bear 
in  mind  that  if  those  from  the  outside  become 
masters,  neither  must  we  displease  them."  This 
phrase  is  curious  to  quote,  for  Marie  Antoi- 
nette reveals  her  real  thoughts  in  it.  But  what 
skill  it  would  have  required  to  act  up  to  this 
view  of  things  !  What  marvellous  dexterity 
always  to  pursue  a  double  line  of  conduct,  so  as 
to  puzzle  everybody  and  enable  her  to  prove 
to  the  conqueror,  whomsoever  he  might  be, 
that  she  had  been  for  him,  and  had  striven 
for  his  success  from  the  first !  This  was  a 
miracle  of  astuteness  and  equilibrium  far  above 
the  power  of  Louis  XVI.,  and  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, although  she  saw  the  necessity  of  it,  was 
incapable  of  carrying  it  out. 


BAEOif  DE  STAEL  245 

The  danger,  in  fact,  was  great  on  the  side 
of  France,  but  it  was  not  less  formidable 
beyond  the  frontier.  For  the  moment,  in  a 
pause,  during  which  his  acceptance  of  the 
Constitution  had  restored  some  power  and  an 
appearance  of  popularity  to  the  King,  and  had 
given  the  people  some  confidence  and  tran- 
quillity, the  least  thing  happening  outside 
might  react  unfavourably  on  the  interior,  and 
cause  great  embarrassment  to  the  Princes  and 
the  emigrants. 

"  I  fear  everything  from  their  folly,"  writes 
Fersen ;  "  they  are  greatly  excited,  for  they 
believe  themselves  forsaken.  I  can  no  longer 
answer  for  anything  on  their  part." 

This  complication  was  not  his  only  cause  for 
anxiety.  His  sensitive  mind  had  been  pro- 
foundly disturbed  by  the  unpleasant  rumours 
which  had  reached  him,  and  he  could  not  refrain 
from  mention  of  these  to  Marie  Antoinette. 
"  Stael  says  horrid  things  of  me ;  he  has  bribed 
my  coachman,  and  taken  him  into  his  service ; 
this  annoys  me.  He  has  turned  many  people 
against  me,  who  blame  my  conduct  and  say 
that  I  have  acted  from  ambition  solely,  and 
that  I  have  ruined  you  and  the  King.  The 
Spanish  ambassador  and  others  are  of  this 
opinion — they  are  right.  My  ambition  was  to 
serve  you,  and  I  shall  all  my  life  regret  that 
I  did  not  succeed.  1  desired  to  discharge  a 
part  of  the  obligation  which  was  so  dear  to 
me,  and  I  intended  to  prove  that  a  man  may 
be  attached  to  personages  like  yourself  with- 
out  any   interested  motive.     The   rest   of  my 


246  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

conduct  would  have  proved  that  this  was  my 
only  ambition,  and  that  the  glory  of  having 
saved  you  was  my  best  reward."  Then  he 
relates  that  his  horses  have  arrived,  those  horses 
which  drew  the  fugitives  from  the  Port- Saint- 
Martin  to  Bondy.  This  was  a  sad  remembrance, 
if  it  be  true  as  Dante  says  : — 

"  Non  fe  maggior'  dolore 
Che  ricordarsi  dal  tempo  felice 
Nella  miseria," 

"I  know  that  you  have  seen  the  wife  of  my 
valet-de-chambre,"  he  adds.  "  How  good  you 
are !  but  I  ought  to  be  accustomed  to  that. 
They  say  that  you  prefer  remaining  as  you 
are  to  making  use  of  the  Princes.  You  are 
quite  right ;  but  take  care ;  this  must  not  be 
said  ;  it  would  be  dangerous  to  you." 

Yes  indeed,  and  it  was  dangerous.  Marie 
Antoinette  knew  this.  At  all  times  she  had 
found  her  worst  enemies  in  her  husband's 
family  :  misfortune  had  not  disarmed  them, 
and  they  continued  to  carry  out  their  selfish 
policy,  heedless  of  the  harm  which  they  did 
her.  They  had  allies  almost  everywhere,  even 
close  to  the  Queen  herself,  for  Madame  Eliza- 
beth was  in  the  conspiracy.  It  would  be 
difiicult  to  believe  this  if  Marie  Antoinette 
had  not  confided  the  fact  to  Count  Fersen. 
She  writes  : — 

"M.  de  Breteuil's  letter  astonished  and  shocked 
us,  but  we  must  have  patience  and  not  show  any 
anger  at  this  moment.  I  am,  however,  going  to 
copy  it,  so  as  to  show  it  to  my  sister.  I  am 
curious  to  know  how  she  will  justify  it  in  the 


EVILS  OF  THE  EMIGRATIOl^  247 

midst  of  all  that  is  happening.  Our  home-life 
is  a  hell;  it  is  impossible^  with  the  best  inten- 
tions in  the  ivorld,  to  say  anything.  My  sister 
is  so  indiscreet,  so  surrounded  by  schemers,  and, 
above  all,  so  entirely  ruled  by  her  brothers  from 
the  outside,  that  there  is  no  use  in  talking — it 
would  be  nothing  but  quarrels  all  day.  I  see 
that  the  ambition  of  the  people  about  Monsieur 
will  entirely  ruin  him.  At  first  he  thought 
that  he  was  everything ;  but  no  matter  what 
he  does,  he  will  never  play  any  real  part.  His 
brother  will  always  have  the  confidence  of  all 
parties  and  the  advantage  over  him,  because 
of  the  consistency  and  the  invariability  of  his 
conduct..  It  is  most  unfortunate  that  Monsieur 
did  not  come  back  immediately  on  our  being 
stopped ;  he  might  then  have  taken  the  course 
which  he  always  proclaimed  he  would  take, 
that  of  never  leaving  us  :  he  would  have  spared 
us  much  pain  and  trouble,  as  we  shall  pro- 
bably be  forced  to  summon  him  to  return.  To 
this  we  know  he  cannot  consent,  especially  if 
recalled  in  such  a  fashion.  We  have  been 
lamenting  for  a  long  time  the  number  of 
emigrants ;  how  bad  this  is,  no  less  for  the 
country  than  for  the  Princes  themselves.  It 
is  frightful  the  extent  to  which  all  these 
good  people  have  been  deceived,  and  are  being 
deceived,  so  that  they  will  soon  have  no 
resource  but  that  of  rage  and  despair.  Those 
who  have  sufficient  confidence  in  us  to  con- 
sult us  have  been  stopped,  or  at  all  events, 
if  they  have  thought  it  consistent  with  their 
honour  to  go,   we  have  told   them  the  truth. 


248  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

But  what  would  you  have  ?  The  system  is  to 
say  that  we  are  not  free  in  order  not  to  do 
what  we  advise.  This  is  quite  true ;  but  it 
is  also  said  that  consequently  we  cannot  say 
what  we  think,  and  that  action  must  be  taken 
in  the  contrary  sense.  This  explains  the  fate 
of  the  document  sent  to  my  brothers,  and 
which  you  saw  and  approved.  ...  It  is  as 
much  as  to  say,  '  Do  all  we  wish  and  then  we 
will  serve  you,  but  not  otherwise  ! '  "  She  then 
explains  her  view  of  the  line  of  conduct  that 
ought  to  be  taken,  as  follows  : — "  We  must  show 
what  is  our  real  situation,  and  what  are  our 
desires,  by  proving  to  them  that  the  only 
course  for  us  to  follow  is  to  gain  the  confidence 
of  the  people  here  at  this  present  time ;  that, 
in  fact,  it  is  necessary  to  do  this,  in  view  of 
any  plan  whatsoever ;  that  in  order  to  do  this 
we  must  all  act  together,  and  that,  as  the 
Powers  will  not  be  able  to  come  to  the  succour 
of  France  in  great  strength  during  the  winter, 
the  only  resource  is  a  Congress,  which  would 
collect  and  unite  all  available  resources  for 
the  spring.  But,  in  making  this  communica- 
tion, their  extreme  indiscretion  must  be  guarded 
against.  It  is  only  from  abroad  that  our  salva- 
tion can  come,  for  nothing  is  to  he  clone  ivith 
this  Assembly ;  it  is  a  mob  of  scoundrels, 
madmen,  and  fools." 

A  few  days  later  she  reverts  to  this  idea, 
and  adds  a  memorandum  from  the  King  to 
her  private  letter  to  Count  Fersen.  She  is 
careful  to  give  her  correspondent  notice  of  this. 
*'  There   is   not  .  .  .  for  you   inside,   therefore 


A  FOOL'S  PAKADISE  249 

leave  the  decipherment  to  B."  (meaning  Baron 
de  Breteuil).  The  King's  note  contains  this 
sentence  :  "  The  firm  and  uniform  language  of 
all  the  European  Powers,  backed  by  a  for- 
midable army,  would  have  the  happiest  con- 
sequences ;  it  would  temper  the  ardour  of  the 
emigrants,  whose  part  would  henceforth  be  only 
secondary,  factions  would  be  disconcerted,  and 
confidence  would  be  restored  among  good  citi- 
zens, friends  of  order,  and  the  monarchy." 

How  fallacious  were  such  hopes !  How  little 
did  the  King  know  the  "factions"  on  the  one 
side,  or  the  "  good  citizens  "  on  the  other,  if  he 
could  believe  that  the  assembling  of  a  Congress 
would  disconcert  the  former  and  consolidate 
the  latter!  How  little  did  he  understand 
the  sentiments  of  the  emigrants  if  he  could 
believe  that  such  a  prospect  w^ould  cool  them 
down !  Perhaps  he  knew  still  less  about  the 
state  of  mind  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe, 
when  he  flattered  himself  that  a  sincere  and 
serious  common  understanding  would  ever  unite 
them  in  any  task. 

At  the  same  moment  innumerable  schemers 
were  busy  in  the  service  of  private  interests, 
and  as  diplomatists  will  apparently  stop  at 
nothing  to  gain  their  ends,  they  spread  a  re- 
port that  Marie  Antoinette  was  carrying  on  an 
active  correspondence  with  her  brother,  with 
the  purpose  of  inducing  him  to  separate  himself 
from  the  common  action  of  the  other  sovereigns. 

The  King  of  Sweden,  without  taking  the 
trouble  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  such  an 
accusation,  wrote  to  Count  Fersen  on  the  nth 


250  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

November  1791,  expressing  his  anger  unreser- 
vedly. "  The  equivocal  conduct  of  the  Prince," 
he  writes,  alluding  to  Leopold,  "  with  his  fore- 
seen continual  tergiversation,  was  a  presage  of 
the  part  which  he  has  been  taking  for  a  long 
time,  and  all  that  he  did  was  for  the  purpose 
of  preventing  the  other  Powers  from  acting, 
by  causing  them  to  lose  time.  But  it  is  true 
that  the  shameful  conduct  of  the  Court  of 
France  has  marvellously  favoured  his  pro- 
jects. .  .  .  The  conduct  of  the  Court  of  France 
has  surely  surpassed  in  cowardice  and  in 
ignominy  all  that  one  could  have  presumed 
from  it,  and  that  the  past  has  indicated. 

"  If  the  Queen  prefers  the  subjection  and  the 
peril  in  which  she  lives,  to  dependence  on  the 
Princes  her  brothers,  of  which  she  seems  to 
entertain  a  greater  dread,  although  very  wrong- 
fully, I  ought  to  tell  you  that  the  Empress  (of 
Eussia)  is  very  much  displeased  at  this  con- 
duct, and  especially  that  the  Queen  of  France 
writes  letter  upon  letter  to  the  Emperor  to 
prevent  him  from  acting P 

Great  was  Count  Fersen's  grief  on  receiving 
such  missives.  Living  at  Brussels  in  the  midst 
of  the  emigrants,  he  knew  better  than  anybody 
whence  these  false  rumours  proceeded.  Why, 
indeed,  should  those  gentlemen,  who  had  fled 
their  country,  restrain  themselves  ?  They  were 
accustomed  to  hear  the  Comte  de  Provence  speak 
of  his  brother  in  cruel,  contemptuous,  mocking 
terms.  Had  he  not  called  him  **  King  Log" 
when  railing  against  him  and  the  Queen  ?  They 
,        were  merely  following  an  illustrious  example. 


TREACHEKY  TO  THE  QUEEN  251 

However  painful  it  was  for  him  to  have  to 
apprise  Marie  Antoinette  of  the  accusations 
made  against  her,  Count  Fersen  did  not  shrink 
from  that  duty.  His  letters  contain  the  proof 
of  his  courageous  fidelity  in  this  respect.  The 
Queen,  being  informed  of  these  calumnies,  was 
enabled  to  defend  herself. 

*'  What  is  said  of  my  letters  to  the  Emperor," 
she  writes,  "  is  incomprehensible.  For  some 
time  past  I  have  suspected  that  my  hand  is 
imitated  in  communications  to  him.  I  must 
clear  up  this  fact." 

Whether  tlie  letters  existed  or  not,  what  did 
it  signify  ?  The  mischief  was  done  ;  the  Emperor 
did  not  act.  The  other  sovereigns  acted  with- 
out any  mutual  agreement,  and  the  Princes 
kept  up  diplomatic  correspondence  with  the 
European  Courts  as  if  Monsieur  had  been 
king.  As  for  the  emigrants,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  short-sighted  persons,  whose 
royalism,  to  quote  the  expression  of  Madame 
Swetchine,  was  only  patriotism  simplified,  they 
were  more  furious  against  the  King  and  Queen 
because  they  had  not  rejected  the  Constitution, 
than  touched  by  their  unhappy  position  in  a 
kino;dom  in  revolt. 

That  they  were  not  the  stronger  was  resented 
to  the  unfortunate  King  and  Queen  as  a  crime. 
Marie  Antoinette  felt  the  desertion  of  their 
former  friends  profoundly.  Occasionally  her  in- 
dignation breaks  out  in  vehement  words,  and 
in  a  letter  to  M.  de  Mercy  she  writes  of  the 
emigrants  as  "  cowards."  What  an  existence 
for  the  unfortunate  woman !     Nevertheless  she 


252  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

did  not  break  down,  her  pride  sustained  her, 
pride  and  hope,  notwithstanding  all,  remained 
intact  in  her  heart.  She  was  a  mother,  too, 
and  on  that  side  she  found  some  alleviation 
of  her  pain.  "As  for  myself,  I  keep  up 
better  than  I  could  have  expected,  considering 
my  prodigious  fatigue  of  mind,  and  that  I  go 
out  very  little.  I  have  not  a  moment  to  my- 
self, between  the  people  that  I  must  see,  my 
writing,  and  the  time  that  I  am  with  my 
children.  The  latter  occupation,  which  is  not 
the  least,  is  my  sole  happiness,  and  when  I 
am  very  sorrowful,  I  take  my  little  boy  in  my 
arms,  I  kiss  him  with  all  my  heart,  and  that 
consoles  me  for  a  moment.  Adieu,  adieu  once 
more." 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

Gustavus  III.  renews  his  efforts  for  the  deliverance  of  the  royal 
family — A  scheme  of  flight — Count  Fersen  is  commissioned  to 
communicate  with  the  King  and  Queen  of  France — Obstacles 
to  his  return  to  Paris — The  Queen  consents — Difficulties 
concerning  passports — His  journey,  postponed  at  first,  is 
accomplished  in  February  1 792 — Departure  from  Brussels — 
Disguise — Arrival  in  Paris — First  visit  to  the  Tuileries — 
Interview  with  the  King — Departure  from  Paris — Incidents 
of  the  return — Fersen's  report  to  the  King  of  Sweden. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  (1791)  three  policies 
were  contending  for  adoption  by  the  unfortu- 
nate King,  who  was  face  to  face  with  revo- 
lution. 

The  first  was  the  policy  of  the  Constitutional- 
ists, inspired  by  Barnave,  the  Lameth  brothers, 
Duport,  and  others.  This  policy  consisted  of 
rejecting  all  connivance  with  foreigners  or 
emigrants,  and  giving  a  trial  to  the  new 
order  of  things  which  France  had  created  for 
herself. 

The  second  was  the  Queen's  policy ;  this  con- 
sisted of  inducing  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  to 
make  an  armed  demonstration  in  order  to  strike 
terror  into  the  factious  nation. 

The  third  was  the  policy  of  the  Emigrants. 
The  only  means  of  salvation  it  recognised  was 
the  active  intervention  of  the  foreign  Powers, 
and  it  contemplated,  without  scruple  or  regret, 

12  «53 


254  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN^ 

the  idea  of  making  war  against  France  by  a 
European  coalition. 

Louis,  who  was  always  undecided,  naturally 
did  not  know  which  of  the  three  policies  to 
adopt ;  he  inclined  first  to  one,  then  to  an- 
other, and  so  came  to  the  worst  condition  of 
all,  that  of  having  no  will  of  his  own. 

In  the  meantime,  in  spite  of  difficulties,  in 
spite  of  rebuffs,  the  King  of  Sweden  was  not 
disheartened.  He  was  proud  of  the  part  he  felt 
himself  called  upon  to  play ;  his  eyes  were 
always  fixed  upon  France,  and  his  mind  was 
constantly  engaged  upon  schemes  for  the  rescue 
of  the  royal  family. 

The  plan  of  a  descent  upon  Normandy  having 
come  to  nothing  in  consequence  of  the  down- 
right refusal  of  the  Emperor  to  take  part  in 
it,  Gustavus  fell  back  upon  the  idea  of  assem- 
bling an  armed  Congress  at  Frankfort ;  this 
had  been  suggested  by  Marie  Antoinette.  But 
on  giving  full  consideration  to  the  difficulty 
of  realising  this  project,  he  relinquished  it  in 
favour  of  a  fresh  attempt  at  flight.  He  was 
afraid  that  the  people  of  Paris  might  revenge 
themselves  upon  the  King  and  Queen  for  war- 
like demonstrations  from  without ;  and  he 
also  desired  that  the  royal  persons  should  be 
out  of  the  reach  of  popular  fury,  in  order 
that  the  coalition  which  he  contemplated  might 
have  greater  freedom  of  action. 

He  therefore  advised  Louis  to  "  regard 
himself  as  in  the  case  of  Henri  IV.  after  the 
death  of  Henri  III.,  or  Charles  VII.  after  the 
.death    of    Charles    VI.,    and,    accordingly,    to 


THE  COUNSEL  OF  GUSTAVUS 


'OD 


occupy  himself  solely  with  the  means  of  wrest- 
ing his  kingdom  from  the  usurpers,  also  to 
treat  the  latter  as  Henri  IV.  treated  Mayenne 
and  the  League,  or  as  Charles  VII.  treated 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  the  partisans  of 
the  English." 

In  writing  these  lines  the  King  of  Sweden 
displayed  a  more  profound  knowledge  of  history 
than  of  the  character  of  Louis  XVL,  although 
he  had  thought  it  well  to  enhance  the  effect 
of  his  counsel  by  addressing  himself  equally 
to  the  Queen.  It  was  with  good  reason  that 
he  wrote  to  her  :  "  Your  position  is  desperate  ; 
you  must  be  got  out  of  it  by  desperate  means. 
However  great  the  danger  that  you  will  have 
to  confront,  it  will  be  less  than  that  of 
abandoning  your  fate  to  the  course  of  events, 
and  leaving  the  opportunity  and  merit  of  saving 
the  kingdom  to  others.  But  I  think  it  ri^ht 
to  speak  of  the  danger  that  exists,  and  also 
to  endeavour  to  lessen  it  in  the  eyes  of  that 
princess  who,  on  the  8th  of  October,  showed 
herself  with  such  intrepidity  to  a  furious  and 
misled  people,  and  who  has  ever  since  been,  so 
to  speak,  fed  on  peril  only." 

But  Marie  Antoinette,  however  ready  she 
might  be  to  encounter  necessary  and  useful 
danger  in  her  own  person,  was  unable  to  influ- 
ence her  husband,  and  she  might  have  answered 
the  King  of  Sweden  in  the  melancholy  and  dis- 
consolate words  which  she  addressed  to  Mme. 
Campan  a  few  months  afterwards — words  that 
reveal  her  thoughts  plainly,  but  in  which  she 
tries  to  combine  a  stern  judgment  of  her  hus- 


256  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

band  with  the  external  respect  due  to  the  King 
of  France. 

"  The  King,"  she  said,  "  is  not  a  coward ; 
he  has  great  passive  courage,  but  he  is  over- 
powered by  shyness  and  distrust  of  himself,  and 
this  is  due  as  much  to  his  education  as  to  his 
character.  He  shrinks  from  commanding,  and 
dreads  beyond  everything  having  to  speak  to 

an    assemblage    of  men A  Queen  who 

does  not  reign  must,  under  these  circumstances, 
remain  inactive  and  prepare  to  die." 

There  was  then  very  little  chance  that 
Louis  XVI.  would  consent  to  repeat  the 
Varennes  attempt,  and  the  chances  of  suc- 
cess in  a  second  attempt  to  escape  were  still 
less. 

The  scheme  formed  by  Gustavus  III.  seemed 
simple  enough  to  his  Majesty,  but  it  was  very 
complicated. 

Starting  with  the  fact  that  all  the  roads 
leading  to  the  frontier  were  closely  watched, 
he  advised  that  the  sea-coast  should  be  the 
destination  of  the  fugitives  this  time :  an 
English  ship,  stationed  in  a  small  port,  was 
to  await  them,  and  convey  them  to  Ostend,  or 
else  to  England.  The  plan  for  getting  out  of 
Paris  was  that  the  King,  under  the  pretext 
of  hunting,  should  escape  by  the  woods,  and 
be  guided  by  an  Englishman  to  the  coast.  An 
Englishman  was  to  be  chosen  for  this  confidential 
mission,  because  it  appears  "  these  people  are 
bold  in  action  and  also  generous."  The  Queen, 
the  Dauphin,  and  Madame  Elizabeth  were  to 
take  another  route. 


f 


A  DANGEEOUS  MISSION  257 

By  travelling  separately,  the  fugitives  would 
attract  less  attention,  and  their  meeting  could 
be  more  easily  effected  at  the  selected  sea- 
port. 

The  conception  of  this  scheme  was  obviously 
absurd ;  its  practical  execution  was  of  course 
impossible. 

Neither  the  King  of  Sweden  nor  Baron 
Taube,  to  whom  he  confided  his  idea,  recog- 
nised any  difficulty,  and  it  was  decided  that  the 
project  should  be  laid  before  Count  Fersen,  who 
was  to  be  sent  to  Paris  to  communicate  with 
the  persons  concerned. 

Count  Fersen,  who  was  usually  more  reason- 
able and  cautious,  made  no  objection  to  this 
chimerical  plan.  It  may  be  that  his  longing 
to  be  with  the  Queen,  to  pass  a  few  days 
with  her  whom  he  had  feared  he  should  see 
no  more,  overrode  every  other  consideration. 
He  accepted  the  mission  intrusted  to  him 
without  hesitation,  although  it  stretched  his 
fidelity  to  the  full,  and  taxed  all  his  tender 
interest  to  induce  him  to  brave  the  danger 
to  which  such  a  mission  must  inevitably  ex- 
pose him.  He  had  been  indicted  with  the 
accomplices  of  the  flight  to  Varennes,  but  his 
absence  had  saved  him  from  arrest ;  he  was, 
however,  still  "  condemned  as  contumacious," 
for  he  had  not  been  included  in  the  amnesty, 
w^iich  affected  actual  prisoners  only.  His  rela- 
tions with  the  royal  family,  his  participation 
in  the  Varennes  scheme,  were  well  known ;  he 
had  everything  to  fear  if  he  were  recognised. 
On  this  venture  he  staked  his  head. 


258  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Although  he  did  not  hesitate,  Marie  Antoi- 
nette took  a  different  view  of  his  generous 
imprudence,  and  at  first  opposed  the  dan- 
gerous and  foolish  enterprise.  However,  she 
longed  to  see  her  friend  once  more,  and,  trust- 
ing in  the  precautions  which  he  would  take, 
she  yielded  at  last  to  his  urgent  pleading.  On 
the  2ist  of  January  Count  Fersen  writes  in 
his  journal,  "  The  Queen  has  consented  to  my 
going  to  Paris." 

He  began  immediately  to  prepare  for  his 
mission,  fixed  his  departure  for  the  3rd  of 
February,  and  announced  it  to  Marie  Antoi- 
nette ;  but  a  vexatious  occurrence  obliged  him 
to  alter  his  intention.  A  report  was  spread 
that  the  King  intended  to  escape  by  way  of 
Calais,  and  Paris  was  in  commotion.  The  Queen 
wrote  to  Fersen  to  postpone  his  journey  until 
the  decree  respecting  passports  had  been  issued, 
and  tranquillity  was  restored.  Then,  a  few 
days  later,  she  again  wrote  to  him  to  the  effect 
that  passports  "  for  the  individual "  were  re- 
quired for  everybody ;  that  the  rumour  of  the 
King's  intended  escape  had  caused  the  watch 
kept  upon  the  royal  family  to  be  much  more 
strict,  and  that  he  (Fersen)  must  relinquish  a 
journey  which  had  now  become  impossible.^ 

Count  Fersen,  however,  thought  otherwise. 
He  had  resolved  to  brave  all  possible  risks. 
Could  he  not  procure  a  passport  from  Sweden, 

1  Tliese  letters,  to  whicli  Count  Fersen  alludes  in  his  journal, 
are  not  to  be  found  in  tlie  two  large  volumes  of  Extracts  from 
his  papers.  Did  he  destroy  them  with  his  own  hand,  or  did  the 
editors  object  to  publishing  them  ?  The  answer  to  this  question 
would  evidently  be  of  great  interest. 


BARON  DE  SIMOLIN  259 

and  pass,  under  an  assumed  name,  as  a  mes- 
senger from  Portugal  ?  Travellers  had  recently 
passed  tlie  frontier  without  any  difficulty ;  he 
had  just  seen  M.  de  Simolin,  who  was  newly  ar- 
rived from  Paris,  and  had  met  with  no  obstacles. 

It  was  not  merely  the  sight  of  the  former 
Ambassador  from  Russia  to  the  Court  of  France, 
safe  and  sound  at  Brussels,  that  had  redoubled 
Count  Fersen's  anxiety  to  cross  the  frontier. 
Baron  de  Simolin,  who  was  devoted  to  the  royal 
family,  had  seen  the  Queen  in  secret  during  his 
stay  in  Paris,  and  gave  his  friend  terrible  news 
concerning  her.  The  situation  was  dreadful  ; 
the  danger  was  growing  greater  every  day.  He 
repeated  the  Queen's  own  words — 

"  I  would  rather  submit  to  anything  than 
live  longer  in  the  state  of  degradation  I  am  in, 
for  anything  seems  preferable  to  the  horror  of 
our  position." 

Baron  de  Simolin  added  that  he  had  been 
moved  to  tears  by  hearing  the  unhappy  woman 
speak  thus,  and  that  he  was  then  going  to 
Vienna  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  Queen,  and  as 
the  bearer  of  letters  from  her  to  the  Emperor, 
the  Empress,  and  Prince  Kaunitz.  In  re- 
lating all  this  to  Count  Fersen,  he  again  gave 
way  to  keen  emotion,  which  was  shared  by  his 
friend.  This  scene  confirmed  his  resolution  ;  he 
must  go — he  would  go  ! 

He  set  about  his  final  preparations  at  once, 
and  by  the  loth  of  February  he  was  ready  to 
start.  On  the  i  ith,  at  half-past  ten  in  the 
morning,  he  took  his  place  in  a  (literal)  "post- 
chaise." 


26o  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

He  did  not  take  a  servant,  from  the  prudent 
consideration  that  a  valet-de-chambre,  however 
faithful  he  might  be,  might  involuntarily  betray 
both  himself  and  his  master.  He  had,  how- 
ever, a  travelling  companion,  one  Reutersvaerd, 
a  Swede,  who  was  a  trustworthy  person,  fre- 
quently employed  by  Gustavus  to  carry  secret 
missives. 

Fersen  himself  relates  the  precautions  that 
were  taken  to  put  the  French  police  off  the 
scent,  should  they  exhibit  an  indiscreet  curiosity 
concerning  the  travellers.  He  was  provided 
with  a  letter  of  credit  as  Minister  of  the  Queen 
of  Portugal.  Letters,  and  a  memorandum  from 
the  KJng  of  Sweden  to  the  King  of  France 
were  placed  under  cover,  and  addressed  to 
him  in  that  capacity ;  a  detailed  report  was 
signed  "  Franc,"  and  the  whole  was  "  sealed 
with  the  arms  of  Sweden,  made  here"  (in 
Brussels). 

They  arrived  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening 
at  Tournay,  where  they  slept.  At  half-past 
three  in  the  morning  they  set  out  again  (this 
was  Sunday,  the  12th  of  February),  being  only 
moderately  easy  in  their  minds,  for  Reutersvaerd 
had  been  talking  with  a  M.  d'Aponcourt,  who 
had  told  him  "he  could  not  reach  Paris  for 
a  full  fortnight,  as  he  would  be  stopped  every- 
where." 

M.  d'Aponcourt  was  WTong ;  they  crossed  the 
frontier  unmolested.  "  At  Orchies  nothing  was 
said  to  them."  They  breakfasted  at  Bouchain 
and  dined  at  Bonavy,  were  detained  four  hours 
at  P^ronne  by  an  accident  to  their  carriage,  and 


A  SUCCESSFUL  DISGUISE  261 

reached  Gournay,  where  they  remained  until  the 
next  day,  at  half-past  one  a.m. 

Notwithstanding  the  facility  of  their  journey, 
the  travellers  were  very  prudent ;  and  Count 
Fersen,  who  was  effectually  disguised  by  a  big 
wig,  avoided  the  blunder  that  had  betrayed 
Louis  XVI. ;  he  kept  himself  well  hidden  in  the 
carriage,  and  as  much  as  possible  avoided  show- 
ing himself  on  any  occasion. 

On  Monday  the  1 3  th  they  stopped  at  Louvres 
to  dine,  and  at  half-past  five  they  entered  Paris, 
well  pleased  to  have  reached  the  end  of  their 
journey. 

They  were  now  in  that  city  on  which  the 
attention  of  the  world  was  fixed.  What  must 
Fersen  have  felt  on  looking  around  him — what 
recollections  of  every  sort  must  have  crowded 
upon  him  !  He  had  not  seen  those  streets  since 
that  eventful  night  of  the  20th  of  June,  on 
which  he  had  played  coachman  to  the  royal 
family  when  "they  broke  prison." 

The  times  were  changed,  the  position  also 
was  changed.  Marie  Antoinette,  whom  he  had 
tried  to  liberate,  and  to  save  from  the  wrath  of 
the  people,  was  still  more  closely  imprisoned 
in  the  palace  of  the  monarchy,  now  her  gaol, 
and  he  himself  stood  in  peril  of  his  liberty 
— nay,  more,  of  his  life,  as  an  accused  and  con- 
tumacious person. 

The  travellers  alighted  in  the  Eue  de  Eiche- 
lieu  at  the  Hotel  des  Princes,  and  Fersen  leav- 
ing Eeutersvaerd  without  entering  the  hotel, 
got  into  a  hackney-coach,  giving  the  driver  the 
address  of  Baron  de  Goguelat,  Eue  Pelletier. 


2  62  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  driver  did  not  know  that  street,  and 
said  he  was  afraid  he  could  not  take  his  fare 
to  it ;  fortunately,  another  driver  gave  him 
instructions,  and  Fersen  was  deposited  at 
Goguelat's  door.  But  the  Baron  was  not  at 
home.  Fersen  waited' for  him  in  the  street; 
time  passed,  and  he  became  uneasy.  Goguelat 
had  been  told  to  expect  him.  What  had 
happened  ?  After  an  hour's  waiting,  he  lost 
patience,  and  returned  to  the  Rue  de  Riche- 
lieu, to  rejoin  Reutersvaerd.  At  the  Hotel  des 
Princes,  no  Reutersvaerd.  There  was  no  room  in 
the  hdtel.  He  inquired  whither  his  friend  had 
gone,  but  nobody  could  tell.  Fersen  went  back 
to  the  Rue  Pelletier ; — no  Goguelat.  He  sum- 
moned up  his  patience  once  more,  and  resumed 
his  watch  in  the  street. 

At  seven,  Goguelat  appeared,  and  explana- 
tions ensued.  The  letter  of  advice  had  arrived 
only  at  noon  on  that  same  day.  Goguelat 
was  not  at  home,  and  there  was  no  means  of 
finding  him,  so  that  the  important  missive  had 
to  wait  for  his  return. 

The  two  gentlemen  could  not  linger  over 
retrospective  memories  at  that  moment;  they 
took  their  way  to  the  Tuileries  without  delay. 
They  were  expected ;  they  got  into  the  palace, 
and  once  more  Fersen  stood  in  the  presence 
of  Marie  Antoinette ! 

We  have  no  details  of  that  first  interview, 
and  are  obliged  to  be  content  with  two  lines 
in  Fersen's  journal,  who  again  proves  himself 
"a  hero  of  romance,  but  not  of  a  French 
romance,"    by  his   discreet    reserve.      Here  is 


A  SECKET  INTERVIEW  263 

the  entry  :  "  Went  to  the  Queen  ;  passed  by 
my  usual  way;  fear  of  the  National  Guards;  not 
seen  the  King." 

On  the  morrow — "  the  weather  was  very 
fine  and  warm" — he  waited  until  it  was  dark 
to  return  to  the  Tuileries.  It  was  about  six 
o'clock  when  he  saw  the  King  and  Queen. 
"  The  King  wore  the  red  ribbon." 

The  situation  was  discussed,  with  its  im- 
minent danger  and  its  possible  developments. 
Count  Fersen  communicated  to  their  Majesties 
the  plan  for  their  flight  which  the  King  of 
Sweden  had  formed  ;  but  the  King  stopped 
him  after  he  had  said  a  few  words,  declaring 
that  he  would  not  go  away,  and  that  were 
he  willing  to  attempt  such  a  thing,  it  would  be 
folly,  and  could  not  have  a  chance  of  success, 
so  close  was  the  watch  kept  upon  them.  The 
Queen,  although  she  acknowledged  that  to 
escape  would  be  an  immense  advantage  to 
them,  and  while  she  assured  her  distressed 
hearer  that  the  failure  of  the  first  attempt 
should  not  deter  her  from  a  second,  was  of 
the  same  opinion,  and  united  with  Louis  in 
absolutely  refusing  to  adopt  the  views  of  the 
King  of  Sweden  on  this  point. 

Count  Fersen  was,  however,  convinced  that 
the  words  of  Louis  were  inspired  by  another 
motive  than  the  material  impossibility  of  the 
undertaking.  "The  truth  is,"  he  writes,  "he 
made  a  scruple  of  it,  having  so  often  promised 
to  remain,  for  he  is  an  honest  man."  Fersen's 
entreaties  failed  to  obtain  anything  more  than 
the  King's  promise  that  he  would  betake  him- 


264  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

self  to  the  woods,  on  the  approach  of  the 
united  armies,  and  allow  himself  to  be  guided 
by  smugglers  to  a  place  where  he  would  be 
met  by  troops  detached  for  this  purpose. 

On  the  question  of  the  Congress,  the  King 
required  that  immediately  upon  its  meetings 
it  should  deal  with  his  demands,  and  espe- 
cially, in  case  of  the  Assembly's  being  disposed 
to  treat,  should  insist  upon  his  being  per- 
mitted to  leave  Paris,  and  to  proceed  to  some 
place  of  abode,  where  he  would  have  the 
necessary  freedom  to  follow  the  course  of  the 
negotiations,  and,  if  need,  to  ratify  them,  secure 
from  coercion. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  the  Assembly  should 
prove  intractable  and  refuse  all  discussion,  he 
would  no  longer  oppose  the  action  of  the 
Powers,  and  he  submitted  himself  beforehand 
to  the  dangers  which  he  must  necessarily  incur 
in  such  a  case. 

Count  Fersen  entered  fully  into  the  nature 
of  those  dangers,  placing  various  cases  which 
might  arise  before  the  King  and  Queen.  Had 
it  not  been  reported  that  the  King  was  to  be 
taken  to  the  Cevennes,  and  placed  in  the 
midst  of  an  army  of  Protestants  ?  To  meet 
this  emergency,  he  proposed  that  a  trustworthy 
person  should  be  employed  "  to  write  a 
pamphlet,  stuffed  full  of  demagogic  ideas,  and 
invectives  against  the  King,  and  especially 
against  the  Queen,  in  which  the  project  of 
taking  them  to  the  Cevennes  should  be  repre- 
sented as  a  device  of  the  aristocrats  to  get  them 
out  of  Paris  and  conveyed  to  the  foreign  armies." 


THE  KIXG'S  SURRENDER  265 

Then  he  added  that  the  Powers  who  were 
disposed  to  come  to  the  aid  of  the  King,  ac- 
cording to  the  belief  of  the  King  of  Sweden 
and  the  Empress  of  Russia,  "would  only  do 
so  in  order  to  re-establish  the  monarchy  and 
the  royal  authority  in  all  its  fulness,  and  not 
to  organise  a  mixed  government  in  France." 

The  Queen  took  up  this  idea  warmly,  but 
the  King,  while  approving,  declared  it  to  be 
impossible.  Fersen  still  insisting,  Louis  an- 
swered with  unusual  animation  : — 

"  Ah !  here  we  are  by  ourselves,  and  we 
can  speak.  I  know  that  I  am  taxed  with 
feebleness  and  irresolution  ;  but  no  one  has  ever 
been  in  my  position.  I  know  I  lost  the  oppor- 
tune moment;  it  was  the  14th  of  July.  I 
should  have  gone  away  then,  and  I  wanted 
to  do  so ;  but  what  was  I  to  do  when  Monsieur 
himself  begged  me  to  remain,  and  Marshal  de 
Broglie,  who  was  in  command,  answered  me, 
'Yes,  we  can  go  to  Metz,  but  what  shall  we 
do  when  we  get  there?'  I  missed  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  it  has  not  come  again.  I  have  been 
forsaken  by  everybody." 

This  outburst  of  feeling  had  made  it  easy 
for  the  poor  King  to  speak,  and  he  continued 
the  confession  of  his  weakness.  Yes,  he  had 
sanctioned  the  decree  for  the  sequestration  of 
the  emigrants'  property,  but  it  was  to  preserve 
it ;  if  he  had  not  done  this,  all  would  have 
been  pillaged  and  burned.  Then  he  hoped 
by  that  concession  to  secure  the  passing  of  his 
"veto"  upon  the  decree  concerning  passports. 
Besides,   he   was   not  in   a  position   to  refuse 


266  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

any  of  the  demands  of  the  rebels,  and  he 
begged  Count  Fersen  to  warn  the  Powers  that 
they  must  not  be  astonished  by  anything,  by 
any  concession,  any  weakness  on  his  part. 

"  They  must  put  me  on  one  side  altogether," 
he  said  simply,  "  and  let  me  alone." 

The  Queen  did  not  take  any  such  humble 
attitude.  Pride  was  more  natural  and  easy 
to  her.  She  mentioned  to  Fersen  the  confi- 
dants she  had  made  among  the  former  Revolu- 
tionists ;  of  course,  she  was  only  trifling  with 
them.  These  men  themselves  were  beginning 
to  say  "  This  cannot  last,"  and  they  admitted 
that  they  had  gone  farther  than  they  intended, 
but  laid  the  fault  upon  the  aristocrats  who 
had  opposed  them.  She  was  not  deceived  by 
these  tardy  protests,  however,  and  she  attri- 
buted them  to  two  sentiments  which  were 
neither  noble  nor  generous — enmity  against 
an  assembly  in  which  they  were  nobodies  and 
totally  without  influence,  and  fear  that  things 
were  about  to  change.  Their  real  motive  was 
the  desire  to  escape  punishment.  Accordingly, 
she  did  not  trust  them,  and  continued  to  see 
them  only  because  it  was  useful  to  do  so. 

She  then  described  the  political  personnel; 
with  the  exception  of  Bertrand  de  Molleville, 
who  was  "good,"  but  powerless  to  do  any- 
thing, all  the  Ministers  were  "  traitors."  The 
worst  was  Cahier  de  Gerville,  a  "  wretched  little 
lawyer  at  seven  hundred  francs  a  year ; "  he  was 
always  ready  to  denounce  his  colleagues.  Lessart 
and  Narbonne  thought  solely  of  themselves, 
not   at  all   of    the   King.      She    had    already 


CONFIDENCES  267 

told  Fersen  in  one  of  her  letters  about 
Narbonne  and  his  intrigues  with  Mme.  de 
Stael.  What  was  to  be  expected  from  such 
people  ? 

In  the  brief  happiness  of  being  once  more 
with  the  friend  of  her  prosperity,  she  made 
him  the  confidant  of  her  evil  days,  and  dwelt 
upon  certain  details  of  the  disastrous  flight 
which  they  had  planned  together.  Mdlle. 
Rocherette,  the  w^aiting- woman,  whom  they 
had  suspected,  was  really  Gouvion's  mistress, 
and  she  told  him  everything.  On  the  day 
after  their  departure  she  was  questioned,  and 
had  said  "horrors"  of  the  Queen.  When  she 
was  asked  whether  she  had  heard  a  noise  near 
the  door,  she  had  the  audacity  to  answer  that 
"she  so  often  heard  going  and  coming  when 
the  King  had  gone  to  bed,  that  she  paid  no 
attention  to  it." 

M.  de  Valory  had  confided  the  plan  to  his 
mistress,  who  had  another  lover,  "M.  X.,  a 
fanatical  'patriot.'"  Including  the  three  body- 
guards in  a  sweeping  censure,  she  declared 
that  they  had  been  "  good  for  nothing." 

As  for  the  return,  it  was  awful.  She  re- 
called every  incident  of  it,  the  murder  of  M. 
Dampierre,  the  man  who  accused  her  of  wish- 
ing to  poison  him,  the  cries,  the  insults,  all, 
all  was  told  to  her  friend.  Then  she  gave  her 
opinion  of  the  Commissaries  sent  by  the  Assem- 
bly :  "  Latour-Maubourg  and  Barnave  were  'very 
well,'  Petion  was  indecent." 

Petion  boasted  of  knowing  everything.  He 
told  her  that  they  took  a  hackney-coach  close 


268  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

to  the  Tuileries,  and  that  it  was  driven  by  a 

Swede  named ?   pretending  not  to  know 

the  name — and  then  he  asked  if  she  could 
tell  him.  She  answered,  "  I  am  not  in  the 
habit  of  asking  the  name  of  hackney-coach 
drivers." 

And  the  sufferings  of  that  last  day :  thirteen 
hours  in  the  carriage  in  intense  heat,  without 
daring  to  lower  the  blinds !  And  the  six 
weeks  that  followed,  what  a  watch  was  kept 
over  them !  And  the  spying !  The  officers 
of  the  National  Guard  always  in  the  room 
adjoining  theirs,  and  wanting  actually  to  sleep 
in  their  room !  It  was  with  difficulty  that 
they  were  made  to  remain  between  the  double 
doors.  They  even  came  in  during  the  night, 
to  make  sure  that  she  was  in  her  bed ;  and 
one  night  the  officer  finding  she  was  not 
asleep,  took  a  seat  by  the  side  of  her  bed  and 
began  to  talk !  But  this  was  not  all ;  a  camp 
was  formed  under  their  windows,  and  day  and 
night  a  constant  racket  and  noise  was  kept  up. 
As  the  Queen  recapitulated  all  these  wrongs 
and  miseries,  her  thoughts  turned  to  those 
who  had  forsaken,  and  those  who  had  served 
her.  She  could  not  refrain  from  owning  that 
in  general  the  former  owed  everything  to  her, 
and  the  latter  nothing.  So  much  ingratitude 
and  so  much  fidelity  aroused  many  and  deep 
emotions  in  her,  and  Count  Fersen,  sharing 
all  her  feelings,  was  moved  to  tears.  Among 
those  who  were  devoted  to  her  she  did  not 
forget  the  King  of  Sweden,  and  she  charged 
his    ambassador    with    the    expression    of    her 


THE  FINAL  PAETIXG  269 

gratitude  for  his  "  friendship  and  interest." 
Why  could  she  not  say  the  same  of  her  own 
brother,  the  Emperor  Leopold  ? 

Thus  ended  an  interview  which  did  not  lead, 
and  could  not  lead,  to  any  practical  result,  but 
which  at  least  gave  Marie  Antoinette  a  brief 
moment  of  happiness.  She  retained  so  vivid 
an  impression  of  it  that  she  recalled  it,  as  we 
shall  see  hereafter,  in  one  of  the  most  bitter 
^  hours  of  her  existence. 

Count  Fersen  might  have  returned  direct  to 
Brussels,  but  he  had  announced  himself  as  a 
"  messenger "  from  Portugal,  and  was  there- 
fore obliged  to  go  to  some  distance  from  Paris, 
if  not  so  far  as  the  Spanish  frontier,  in  order 
to  avert  suspicion.  He  set  out  for  Tours,  and 
came  back  by  Fontainebleau  on  the  19th  of 
February. 

He  did  not  venture  to  go  to  the  Tuileries, 
but  it  w^as  painful  to  him  to  abstain  from 
doing  so.  He  wTote,  asking  whether  there 
were  any  commands  for  him.  The  answer  was 
an  order  to  come  and  take  leave  of  the  King 
and  Queen.  Accompanied  by  Goguelat,  he 
entered  the  chateau  for  the  last  time,  while 
his  companion,  Reutersvaerd,  waited  for  him 
below  in  the  square.  He  supped  with  the  King 
and  Queen,  took  tea  with  them,  and  did  not 
leave  them  until  midnight.  Fersen  had  beheld 
Marie  Antoinette  for  the  last  time. 

On  coming  out  of  the  chateau  he  failed  to 
find  Reutersvaerd,  and  this  made  him  anxious, 
for  he  could  not  postpone  his  departure.  After 
a  while  the   Swede   reappeared  ;   they  quickly 


2  70  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

regained  their  hotel,  which  was  at  no  great 
distance,  and  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  they 
were  off. 

Their  carriage  was  a  light  one  and  drawn  by 
three  good  horses ;  they  went  at  a  smart  pace. 
At  half-past  two  they  reached  Senlis  without 
any  difficulty  ;  at  a  place  which  Count  Fersen 
calls  Pons  in  his  journal,  and  which  must  be 
Pont-Saint-Mazence,  they  saw  some  National 
Guards,  but  the  latter  took  no  notice  of  them. 
They  stopped  because  snow  was  falling  heavily  ; 
but  the  weather  having  cleared  up,  they  went 
on  again,  much  more  slowly  on  account  of 
the  slipperiness  of  the  roads,  so  that  it  was 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  before  they  reached 
Bonavy.  They  supped  badly,  and  slept  worse, 
for  the  only  accommodation  they  could  pro- 
cure w^as  a  wretched  bedroom  which  belonged 
to  a  carter,  and  they  lay  down  in  their 
clothes. 

Hitherto  they  had  experienced  only  some 
ordinary  inconveniences,  but  on  the  following 
day,  Thursday  the  23rd,  several  exceptional  in- 
cidents marked  their  progress.  The  roads  so 
far  as  Cambrai  were  so  bad  that  the  postilions 
refused  to  go  on,  and  the  postmaster  backed 
their  refusal,  saying  they  were  within  their  right, 
and  he  could  not  force  them. 

At  last,  by  dint  of  persuasion,  a  postilion, 
with  more  "pluck"  than  the  others,  con- 
sented to  take  them  on  their  way,  in  con- 
sideration of  the  lightness  of  the  vehicle.  The 
travellers  were  overpowered  by  cold  and  fatigue, 
and    Fersen     fell    asleep.      All    of    a    sudden 


STOPPED  271 

Lo  was  awakened ;  the  carriage  liad  been 
abruptly  stopped,  and  a  man  was  demanding 
Reutersvaerd's  passport.  Fersen  leaned  back 
in  the  carriage,  and  feigned  profound  sleep. 
Reutersvaerd  held  out  the  passport ;  the  man 
looked  at  it,  read  it,  examined  it  for  five 
minutes,  and  then  declared  that  it  was  worth- 
less, inasmuch  as  it  bore  the  words  de  par 
le  roi,  and  not  de  par  la  loi,  and,  more- 
over, did  not  contain  any  personal  description 
(signalement). 

Although  this  incident  occurred  in  a  little 
village  consisting  of  ten  houses  only,  within  half 
a  league  of  Marchiennes,  it  was  important  to 
the  safety  of  the  travellers  that  they  should 
not  be  delayed,  still  more  so  that  they  should 
not  be  stopped.  Reutersvaerd  tried  the  high- 
handed method ;  he  waxed  indignant,  and  said 
angrily,  "  But  it  is  the  Minister's  passport  ; 
he  knows  how  it  ought  to  be,  and  our  Minis- 
ter would  not  have  given  us  a  passport  if  it  had 
not  been  all  right." 

The  man  was  not  convinced.  "It  is  not  on 
the  pattern  that  we  have ;  it  is  no  good,"  he 
repeated. 

Fortunately  the  postilion  came  to  the  aid 
of  the  travellers  by  saying,  "  Sir,  do  you  not 
see  that  these  gentlemen  are  messengers  ?  You 
have  no  right  to  stop  them." 

"  Certainly  we  are  messengers,"  said  Reuters- 
vaerd, "  and  Swedish  messengers  ;  that  is  in  the 
passport,  and  here  is  our  Minister's." 

"  The  fool,"  adds  Fersen,  "  had  not  yet  dis- 
covered  that;"   and  as   he   saw  Reutersvaerd 


^^2  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

growing  polite,  lie  grew  insolent.  However, 
after  he  had  re-read  the  passport,  he  made 
up  his  mind  to  let  the  travellers  go  on,  but 
not  without  warning  them  that  they  would 
certainly  be  stopped  at  Marchiennes,  a  pre- 
diction that  was  strictly  fulfilled.  The  sen- 
tinel " in  a  grey  vest,"  and  the  officer  "in  a 
brown  coat,"  with  whom  they  had  to  deal, 
proved,  however,  very  good-natured,  and  they 
were  allowed  to  proceed. 

Before  they  reached  Orchies  they  were  stopped 
once  more  "at  a  National  barrier,"  set  up  for 
the  purpose  of  searching  for  money.  This 
was  one  of  the  measures  inspired  by  popular 
suspicion  for  preventing  the  enemies  of  the 
people  from  taking  the  money  of  the  country 
out  of  France.  The  keepers  of  the  "National 
barrier  "  treated  them  with  politeness ;  they  did 
not  even  search  them. 

They  passed  through  Orchies,  crossed  the 
frontier,  and  arrived  safely  on  Belgian  terri- 
tory. They  might  throw  away  their  cockades, 
as  the  postilion  himself  took  care  to  tell 
them.  They  were  most  fortunate  in  having 
escaped  the  perils  of  their  dangerous  journey, 
and  they  felt  this  keenly.  Nevertheless  Count 
Fersen  cannot  refrain  from  reverting  sadly  to 
the  past,  after  his  characteristic  fashion,  in  one 
sentence  :  "At  four  o'clock  we  w^ere  at  Tournai ; 
we  dined  there  well,  and  in  the  room  we  sle2^t 
in  on  our  way.      What  a  difference  V* 

At  half-past  five  they  started  again.  "  The 
evening  and  the  night  were  excessively  cold ; 
the  wheels  creaked  as  they  creak  only  in  Sweden. 


FERSEN'S  REPORT  273 

We  arrived  at  Brussels  at  tliree  o'clock  in  tlie 
morning." 

Count  Fersen  went  immediately  to  the  King, 
and  gave  him  an  account  of  his  journey.  He 
left  nothing  undone  that  could  fire  the  soul 
of  Gustavus  and  make  him  work  hard  for 
the  rescue  of  the  prisoners.  In  dwelling  on 
the  "touching  feeling"  with  which  Marie 
Antoinette  had  spoken  to  him  of  the  King's 
efforts  to  liberate  her,  and  having  expressed 
her  gratitude  towards  him,  he  seems  to  have 
had  the  future  rather  than  the  past  in  view. 
Fate  was  about  to  put  all  these  hopes  to 
rout ;  by  an  unforeseen  event  the  Queen  was 
destined  to  be  deprived  of  her  best  and 
bravest  champion.  At  that  snme  moment  a 
band  of  conspirators  were  assembled  to  select 
the  assassin  who  was  to  slay  their  victim.  In 
the  cold  North  also  regicide  was  looming  on 
the  horizon. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Sudden  death  of  Leopold  II. — Rumours  of  poison — The  emi- 
grants rejoice  at  the  death  of  the  Emperor — Francis  II. — 
News  from  Sweden — Convocation  of  the  Diet  at  Gefle — 
Dissatisfaction  of  the  Swedish  nobility — Superstitious  cre- 
dulity of  Gustavus  III. — The  vision  of  Charles  IX. — In  the 
Haga  Park  on  an  evening  in  January  1792 — Plot  against 
the  life  of  the  King— The  conspirators — Ankarstroem — 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Liliehorn — The  i6th  of  March — At  the 
masked  ball — "  Bonjour,  beau  masque  " — Gustavus  is  wounded 
by  a  pistol-shot — His  last  hours — His  death — The  doom  of 
Ankarstroem — Count  Ferseu's  grief. 

"What  will  the  brother  do  if  they  kill  the 
sister?"  asked  the  Comte  d'AUonville  of  the 
Prince  de  Conde. 

"  Perhaps  he  may  venture  to  wear  mourning 
for  her,"  was  the  reply. 

Both  question  and  answer  testify  to  the 
slight  esteem  that  was  generally  professed  for 
Leopold  II.,  Marie  Antoinette's  brother,  he 
whom  Baron  Taube  had  called  "that  accursed 
Florentine."  It  must  be  owned  that  the  con- 
duct of  the  Emperor  Leopold  had  not  realised 
the  very  natural  hopes  of  the  Court  of  France. 
Leopold  was  bound  beyond  any  other  of  the 
sovereigns  to  come  to  the  aid  of  the  royal 
authority  that  was  attacked  and  destroyed  in 
the  person  of  Louis  XVI. ;  for  that  unhappy 
monarch  was  his  own  brother-in-law,  and  his 
own  interests  as  Emperor  and  King  were  deeply 
concerned  in  his  family  interests. 


LEOPOLD  275 

In  this  fact  we  find  the  explanation  of  the 
severity  with  which  he  was  judged  by  some 
of  the  French,  and  by  those  foreigners  who 
were  more  particularly  anxious  about  the  fate 
of  the  King  and  Queen  of  France.  Never- 
theless, impartial  history  must  not  forget  that 
the  action  which  was  required  of  Leopold 
was  not  truly  politic.  The  real  family  of  a 
prince  is  the  nation  he  reigns  over,  and  for 
the  interests  of  that  nation  alone  he  is  bound 
to  care.  Perhaps  Leopold  IL  was  withheld 
from  entertaining  the  projects  of  Gustavus  IIL 
by  his  desire  to  save  his  people  from  the 
scourge  of  war;  in  any  case,  it  is  meting  out 
too  hard  measure  to  him  to  make  a  crime  of 
his  having  considered  first  the  greatness  of 
the  House  of  Austria,  and  put  the  policy  of 
sentiment  into  the  background. 

Even  though  the  validity  of  these  excuses 
be  admitted,  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  the 
friends  of  the  royal  family  had  some  right  to 
reproach  the  Emperor  with  having  deceived 
them,  by  letting  them  hope  for  support  which 
always  failed  them,  and  succour  which  never 
came.  If  it  be  true  that  hypocrisy  is  a 
homage  to  virtue,  Leopold's  duplicity  was  a 
homage  to  family  feeling,  and  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  if  it  were  politic  for  him 
to  assume  a  selfish  attitude  towards  the  Court 
of  France,  it  was  really  very  difiicult  to  do  this 
with  complete  frankness,  which  would  have 
been  instantly  transformed  by  public  opinion 
into  odious  cynicism.  The  great  misfortune 
of  false  positions  is  that  they  beget  falsehood. 


276  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Leopold  could  not  escape  from  that  fatal  con- 
sequence. 

Meanwhile,  however  pacific  his  disposition 
may  have  been,  circumstances  were  beginning 
to  be  too  strong  for  him.  France  was  growing 
tired  of  the  noise  that  the  emigrants  and  their 
foreign  friends  were  making  all  about  the 
frontier,  and  began  to  want  to  silence  this 
vexatious  buzzing.  The  nation  was  becoming 
warlike. 

"You  are  very  lucky,"  said  the  Elector  of 
Mayence  to  the  Marquis  de  Bouille,  "that  the 
French  are  the  aggressors,  otherwise  we  should 
never  have  had  war." 

At  last  Leopold  was  about  to  yield,  and 
although  hoping  to  the  last  that  he  might 
elude  the  necessity  of  throwing  himself  into 
the  fight,  he  signed  the  treaty  of  alliance 
with  Belgium ;  but  death  came  to  relieve  him 
from  the  responsibility  of  a  decision  which 
he  dreaded.  He  was  attacked  suddenly  by 
an  illness  which  the  physicians  could  neither 
diagnose  nor  check,  and  in  a  few  hours  he 
was  at  the  worst.  He  suffered  from  excru- 
ciating pain  in  the  bowels,  accompanied  by 
vomiting.  Some  relief  was  afforded  by  bleed- 
ing him,  but  the  respite  was  brief;  he  was 
soon  seized  with  convulsions,  and  expired  in 
the  arms  of  the  Empress,  who  had  just  arrived. 
Such  a  death,  so  sudden,  and  under  the  actual 
circumstances,  gave  rise  to  sundry  interpreta- 
tions and  to  grave  suspicion.  Eumours  of 
poison  were  spread  immediately,  and  the  de- 
claration   of    the    doctor    who    made    a    post- 


DEATH  OF  LEOPOLD  277 

mortem  examination  of  the  body  confirmed 
them. 

The  Emperor  died  on  the  2nd  of  March ; 
on  the  8th  the  event  was  made  known  to  the 
public  at  Brussels  in  a  singular  way.  It  was 
announced  by  an  actor  on  the  stage  of  a 
theatre.  The  play  was  interrupted,  and  the 
crowd  dispersed  about  the  city  spreading  the 
news.  The  Bishop,  who  was  promptly  apprised 
of  the  fact,  called  on  Count  Fersen  at  half-past 
seven  with  the  information. 

The  news  not  only  failed  to  produce  any 
feeling  of  regret,  or  even  the  moderate  emotion 
generally  excited  by  occurrences  of  public  im- 
•  portance,  but  it  was  received  with  a  general 
manifestation  of  satisfaction.  At  the  theatre 
some  of  the  audience  had  actually  applauded 
the  actor's  announcement ! 

"  The  Emperor  is  dead ;  well,  that  is  a  good 
thing,"  said  one  of  Fersen's  friends  to  him. 

This  was  the  feeling  of  all  the  generals. 
The  soldiers  themselves  rejoiced.  It  is  on 
record  that  in  the  evening  a  sentinel,  seeing 
some  unusual  stir,  asked  what  it  meant.  When 
he  was  told  that  the  Emperor  was  dead,  he 
,  exclaimed — 

"Ah!  ah!  Dead  is  he?  Well,  then,  long 
live  Francois,  the  soldier's  father  ! " 

The  emigrants,  as  may  be  supposed,  were  of  a 
similar  way  of  thinking.  They  might,  however, 
being  persons  of  good-breeding,  have  been  more 
reserved  in  the  expression  of  their  sentiments. 
Count  Fersen,  who  witnessed  their  conduct,  was 
shocked.     "  The  French,"  he  writes  to  Gustavus, 

IS 


278  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

"  display  an  indecent  joy  on  this  occasion,  and 
their  remarks  are  unguarded  for  persons  to 
whom  hospitality  is  being  granted ;  but  misfor- 
tune does  not  correct  them." 

Fersen  himself  was  not  inclined  to  waste  senti- 
ment upon  the  fate  of  a  man  whose  "  feeble  and 
uncertain  conduct  had  alienated  all  from  him." 
He  gave  his  opinion  in  the  discussions  which 
arose  upon  the  rumour  of  poison.  Almost  all 
those  who  spoke  of  it  held  that  the  bolt  was 
shot  from  Paris,  and  generously  attributed  the 
deed  to  the  Jacobins,  as  though  such  a  crime 
were  possible  at  that  distance,  even  admit- 
ting that  the  Jacobins,  who  were  letting  Louis 
live,  should  think  it  to  their  interest  to  kill 
Leopold. 

It  is,  however,  interesting  to  observe  the 
different  conclusions  which  were  drawn  by  the 
disputants.  While  some  of  them  eagerly  argued 
that  the  crime  "  was  a  proof  of  the  danger  of 
meddling  in  the  affairs  of  France,"  Fersen  wrote 
in  his  journal — "  So  much  the  better ;  this  will 
prove  the  necessity  of  exterminating  the  mon- 
sters in  France." 

His  eyes  were  fixed  on  France,  therefore  he 
spoke  thus.  Before  long,  facts  were  to  give  him 
a  cruel  contradiction,  teaching  him  that  in  other 
lands  there  were  "monsters"  preparing  to  prove 
themselves  bolder  and  more  prompt  of  action 
than  the  Jacobins  of  France,  in  their  enmity, 
if  not  to  royalty,  at  least  to  kings. 

Baron  de  Goguelat  came  to  Brussels  towards 
the  end  of  March  1792.  He  was  explaining  in 
detail  the  position  of  Louis  and  Marie  Antoinette, 


REGICIDE  279 

which  was  becoming  more  painful  day  by  day, 
when  news  arrived  from  Sweden  that  struck 
terror  to  the  hearts  of  the  two  friends.  Gustavus 
had  been  fired  at  by  an  assassin  and  severely 
wounded. 

Was  the  King  to  live  or  die  ?  None  knew 
that  as  yet ;  all  w^as  confusion  and  uncertainty, 
except  the  terror  that  the  possible  death  of  the 
royal  victim,  coming  so  soon  after  the  sudden 
death  of  Leopold,  inspired  in  the  friends  and 
supporters  of  the  monarchical  system.  Was 
this  crime  also  the  work  of  the  abominable 
Jacobins  ?  How  great  must  be  the  power  of 
that  odious  sect ! 

By  degrees  the  truth  came  out.  The  Jaco- 
bins were  entirely  innocent  of  the  murder  of 
Gustavus  III.  The  assassins  bore  the  greatest 
names  in  the  kingdom,  and  it  was  not  certain 
that  the  nearest  kinsman  of  the  victim — one 
standing  on  the  very  steps  of  the  throne — 
would  not  have  to  be  reckoned  among  the 
accomplices. 

This  catastrophe  astonished  and  horrified 
everybody,  and  yet  there  were  many  things 
to  explain  it,  and  it  might  even  have  been 
foreseen. 

Gustavus  III.,  in  his  desire  to  play  a  great 
part,  in  imitation  of  the  object  of  his  admiration, 
fancied  that  he  might  equal  Louis  XIV.  In 
the  first  place,  he  imitated  not  only  the  splen- 
dour, but  the  prodigality  of  the  Sun -King. 
Forgetting  that  Sweden  was  not  France,  and 
would  be  much  more  rapidly  ruined  by  a 
reign  of  display,  he  expended  money  lavishly. 


28o  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

money  that  he  did  not  possess,  and  had 
to  procure  at  any  price.  He  resorted  to 
all  sorts  of  vexatious  measures  to  fill  the 
coffers  of  the  Treasury ;  but  excessive  taxa- 
tion frequently  defeats  its  purpose,  and  ex- 
ceptional measures  can  only  meet  temporary 
exigencies. 

The  expenditure  was  continued,  the  deficit 
was  increasing,  and  resources  were  diminishing. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  at  this  critical  moment 
that  the  King,  full  of  his  chivalrous  ideas, 
proposed  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
European  coalition  against  the  French  Revolu- 
tion. It  would  take  money  to  attack  the 
Jacobins  ;  Gustavus  resolved  once  more  to  ask 
his  people  for  supplies,  and  made  up  his  mind 
to  summon  a  Diet. 

He  did  not  disguise  from  himself  that  his 
fresh  demands  would  meet  with  formidable 
obstacles.  He  found  that  universal  discontent 
prevailed  among  his  subjects  ;  nevertheless  he 
was  more  afraid  of  the  opposition  of  the  nobles, 
or  a  certain  number  of  them,  than  of  the  objec- 
tions of  the  other  classes.  He  then  bethought 
him  of  a  notable  device  for  diminishing  the 
number  of  the  members  who  would  respond  to 
his  tardy  summons,  and  instead  of  fixing  upon 
Stockholm  as  the  place  of  assembly,  he  named 
the  little  town  of  Gefle,  whither  most  of  the 
opposition  could  not,  or  dared  not,  come,  and 
where  it  would  be  easy  for  him  to  have  them 
watched,  or  to  intimidate,  and  even,  if  necessary, 
to  "  suppress"  them  for  a  time. 

These   measures   availed   nothing ;    the   Diet 


SUPERSTITIOUS  TEKRORS  281 

lasted  hardly  a  montli,  and  the  King,  not- 
withstanding the  precautions  he  had  taken, 
did  not  venture  even  to  put  forward  his  de- 
signs against  France.  The  only  result  obtained 
was  an  increase  of  that  smouldering  enmity 
against  himself,  which  was  ready  to  burst  into 
flame  so  soon  as  a  head  could  be  found  suffi- 
ciently daring  to  plan  the  assassination,  and 
an  arm  sufficiently  firm  to  strike  the  blow. 

Sweden  seemed  ripe  for  such  events.  Never 
at  any  period  had  the  extravagance  of  men's 
imagination  reached  such  a  height.  The  cool 
heads  of  this  Northern  people  passed,  so  to 
speak,  at  a  bound,  from  apathetic  calm  to  tran- 
sports of  madness. 

At  that  period  the  majority  of  men's  minds 
were  disturbed  by  strange  dreams,  by  extra- 
ordinary ideas.  Illuminism  had  made  great 
ravages  among  them,  and  the  King  himself, 
yielding  to  the  current,  was  perhaps  the  most 
ridiculously  credulous  person  in  the  kingdom. 
Every  day  he  consulted  a  female  soothsayer, 
and  the  two  passed  whole  hours  in  examining 
coffee-grounds  for  rules  of  government  and  the 
secrets  of  the  future  ! 

The  belief  that  space  is  peopled  by  mys- 
terious and  invisible  beings,  and  that  malig- 
nant or  benevolent  genii  have  sovereign  power 
over  the  events  of  life,  is  calculated  to  in- 
spire vague  superstitious  terrors  in  even  the 
strongest  minds.  Gustavus  III.  had  not  escaped 
such  fears.  Various  predictions  were  circulated 
among  the  people — one,  stranger  than  all  the 
others,  had  attracted  universal  attention ;  this 


282  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

was  a  so-called  vision  attributed  to  Charles  XL, 
who  had  died  nearly  a  century  before. 

The  story  had  been  current  in  Sweden  for  a 
hundred  years.  It  is  now  popular  in  France, 
thanks  to  Merimee,  who  has  told  it  after  his  own 
inimitable  fashion,  arranging  it,  dramatising  it, 
and,  above  all,  treating  it  with  the  certainty 
of  a  prophet  who  speaks  forty  years  after  the 
event. 

Who  is  there  that  cannot  recall  the  simple 
and  dismal  beginning  of  the  tale?  Charles 
XL,  in  dressing-gown  and  slippers,  was  seated 
near  the  fire,  in  a  wing  of  the  old  royal 
palace  overlooking  Lake  Moeler,  on  an  autumn 
evening.  Count  Brahe,  his  chamberlain,  and 
Baumgarten,  his  doctor,  were  with  him.  The 
conversation  was  dull  and  monotonous.  All 
of  a  sudden  a  strange  and  surprising  spectacle 
presented  itself.  The  great  "Hall  of  the 
Estates  "  in  front  of  them,  situated  in  another 
wing  of  the  palace,  was  shining  brightly. 
The  windows  seemed  to  be  lighted  up.  It 
was  not  a  fire.  What  was  the  meaning  of  this 
illumination  ? 

"I  will  go  into  the  hall  myself,"  said  the 
King. 

He  was  pale,  but  composed.  Brahe  and  Baum- 
garten followed  him,  each  carrying  a  candle. 

They  roused  the  porter,  and  entered  the 
gallery,  which  formed  a  sort  of  antechamber 
to  the  "  Hall  of  the  Estates ; "  the  walls  were 
entirely  hung  with  black. 

"By  whose  orders  was  this  gallery  hung 
with  black  ? "  inquired  the  King. 


THE  VISION  283 

"By  no  one  that  I  know  of,"  replied  the 
bewildered  porter,  "and  the  last  time  I  had 
the  gallery  swept,  it  was  panelled  just  as  it 
has  always  been." 

The  King  went  on.  A  confused  noise  came 
from  the  great  hall. 

"  Stop,  stop,  sire  ! "  exclaimed  Brahe. 

"Let  me  go  and  fetch  twenty  of  your  life- 
guards," said  Baumgarten,  whose  candle  had 
just  been  blown  out  by  a  gust  of  wind. 

"  Let  us  go  in,"  said  the  King. 

He  took  the  keys  from  the  shaking  hands 
of  the  porter,  opened  the  door,  and  entered 
the  Hall  of  the  Estates. 

The  bravest  of  men  would  have  shrunk  from 
the  sight  that  met  his  eyes.  The  hall  was 
entirely  hung  with  black,  and  lighted  by  an 
immense  number  of  torches.  A  numerous 
assembly  occupied  the  benches.  Every  man 
there  was  dressed  in  black.  On  the  raised 
throne  where  the  King  usually  sat  lay  a  bleed- 
ing corpse,  wearing  the  insignia  of  royalty. 
On  the  right  of  the  corpse  stood  a  child,  on 
the  left  an  old  man.  Below  the  throne  was  a 
block,  and  beside  it  an  axe. 

"The  individual  who  presided  made  a  sign, 
a  door  was  opened,  and  several  young  men 
appeared.  Their  hands  were  tied  behind  their 
back.  The  executioner  followed  them.  The 
first  of  these  young  men  stopped  in  the 
middle  of  the  hall  in  front  of  the  block,  at 
which  he  looked  with  supreme  scorn.  At  that 
moment  the  corpse  seemed  to  quiver  convul- 
sively, and  fresh  ruddy  blood  flowed  from  its 


284  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

wound.  The  young  man  knelt  down  and 
stretched  out  his  head ;  the  axe  glittered  in 
the  air,  and  fell  with  a  dull  thud.  A  jet 
of  blood  spurted  out  upon  the  steps  of  the 
throne  and  mingled  with  that  of  the  corpse, 
and  the  head,  rebounding  upon  the  blood- 
stained pavement,  rolled  so  far  as  the  feet  of 
the  King,  and  stained  them  with  gore." 

At  this  moment  King  Charles  recovered 
his  speech,  and,  addressing  the  President, 
said — 

*'  If  you  are  of  God,  speak ;  if  you  are  of 
the  other,  leave  us  in  peace  ! " 

The  phantom  answered  him  slowly  : — 

"  Charles  the  King,  this  blood  shall  not 
flow  under  your  rule,  but  five  reigns  later. 
Woe  !  woe  !  woe !  to  the  House  of  Vasa  ! " 

Then  the  forms  became  indistinct  and  slowly 
vanished ;  the  torches  went  out,  the  black 
draperies,  the  severed  head,  and  the  block  all 
disappeared.  The  King's  slippers  only  retained 
some  stains  of  blood. 

This  sinister  prediction  had  been  near  to 
realisation  in  1792. 

One  evening  in  January  two  men  were  walk- 
ing in  the  Haga  Park.  The  place  was  deserted, 
and  they  were  free  to  examine  the  lie  of  the 
grounds,  and  to  measure  the  distances  at  their 
pleasure.  The  two  men  were,  respectively, 
Count  Horn  and  Jean  Jacques  Ankarstroem, 
a  former  sub-officer  in  the  body-guard.  They, 
with  some  others,  had  formed  a  plan  for 
restoring  its  old  liberties  to  Sweden  by  "sup- 
pressing" the  King.     The  first   intention  was 


A  NAKROW  ESCAPE  285 

only  to  carry  him  ojQT,  and  to  keep  him  out 
of  sight  during  the  time  that  would  be  re- 
quired for  the  establishment  of  a  new  Con- 
stitution and  a  new  government. 

As  they  were  approaching  the  chateau,  a 
lighted  window  attracted  their  attention.  They 
then  saw  Gustavus,  who  had  just  returned 
from  hunting,  throw  himself  wearily  into  an 
arm-chair.  The  King  was  alone ;  the  victim 
actually  presented  himself  to  receive  the  deadly 
stroke,  and  flight  seemed  easy.  Perhaps  the 
temptation  to  deliver  themselves  from  him 
whom  they  regarded  as  their  enemy  may  have 
seized  upon  them ;  at  all  events,  they  stealthily 
advanced. 

At  that  moment,  by  a  strange  coincidence, 
Gustavus  rose,  opened  the  window,  and  showed 
himself  to  the  conspirators,  whom  he  did  not 
see.  The  King's  face  was  so  expressive  of 
care  and  melancholy,  his  attitude  was  so  full 
of  mournful  self-abandonment,  that  the  assassins 
took  pity  on  their  victim,  and,  for  a  moment, 
enmity  was  extinguished  in  their  minds  by 
the  unconscious  fraternity  of  misfortune.  They 
withdrew  softly. 

A  few  days  afterwards  the  King  set  out  for 
Gefle,  from  whence  he  returned  at  the  end  of 
February. 

Like  Csesar,  whom  he  resembled  in  the 
breadth  of  his  ideas  and  in  his  habits,  and 
whom  he  was  destined  to  resemble  in  his 
tragic  fate,  the  Ides  of  March  were  formidable 
to  him.  Dark  rumours,  forerunners  of  great 
disasters,  indicated  that  especial  danger  to  him 


286  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEIS" 

was  threatened  at  this  period,  and  these  rumours 
were  not  fallacious.  A  conspiracy  against  the 
life  of  the  sovereign  was  formed,  and  the  time 
w^as  approaching  when  its  fell  purpose  was  to 
be  carried  out. 

A  great  number  of  the  nobles  were  vaguely 
initiated  into  the  plot ;  they  were  ignorant 
of  its  details,  but  they  approved  of  its  object. 
Certain  personages  of  high  station  were  the 
soul  of  it. 

Chief  among  these  was  Baron  Pechlin,  an 
old  man  of  seventy-two,  who  still  cherished 
in  his  heart  the  passions  of  the  epoch  of 
the  civil  wars,  which  he  had  survived  owing 
to  the  clemency  of  the  King.  He  had  been 
imprisoned  after  the  first  coup-dJetat  in  1772, 
but  was  amnestied  five  months  afterwards, 
although  Gustavus  was  aware  of  his  fierce 
enmity,  and  called  him  the  Jirst  Republican  of 
Sweden.  Pechlin  hated  him  with  a  savage 
hatred,  and  he  had  inspired  several  young  men 
with  a  similar  sentiment;  among  these  was 
Count  Horn.  The  latter  was  a  handsome  man, 
not  quite  thirty  years  of  age,  and  a  distinguished 
horseman ;  a  very  unfit  person,  to  all  appear- 
ance, for  the  deed  of  blood  from  which  he 
had  recoiled  in  the  Haga  Park ;  but  his  father 
had  been  imprisoned  and  threatened  with  death, 
and  he  had  begged  the  favour  of  being  allowed 
to  share  his  fate.  This  was  not  permitted, 
and  his  father  was  not  executed ;  but  the  re- 
collection of  his  filial  fears  had  made  him  fierce 
against  "the  tyrant."  He  had  lent  a  ready 
ear  to  the  first   proposals,  and   afterwards  he 


THE  COXSPIRATOES  287 

had  frequently  given  his  country-house  for  the 
meetings  of  the  conspirators,  to  whose  number 
Ribbing  belonged. 

Count  Ribbing  had  reason  to  complain  of 
the  King,  it  was  said.  He  had  been  in  love 
with  a  rich  heiress,  and  was  cut  out  by  a 
rival  who  was  favoured  by  Gustavus.  Dis- 
appointed love  was  the  cause  of  his  enmity; 
he  hardly  attempted  to  hide  it,  but  took 
pleasure  in  heightening  the  King's  supersti- 
tious terrors.  Gustavus,  being  a  good-natured 
"  tyrant,"  put  up  with  his  insolence,  and 
dreaded  Ribbing  less  as  a  man  who  might  kill, 
than  as  a  "  porte-malheur." 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Liliehorn,  the  captain  of 
the  body-guard,  w^as  also  a  conspirator.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  account  for  the  co- 
operation of  this  man,  whom  the  King  loaded 
with  favours,  if  we  did  not  know  what  havoc 
ambition  can  make  of  the  minds  which  it 
rules. 

Liliehorn  aspired,  not,  like  certain  of  his 
accomplices,  to  high  destinies  for  his  country, 
but  to  a  high  position  for  himself;  and  the 
role  of  Lafayette  seemed  to  him  the  most 
enviable  for  a  soldier — a  conception  which  can 
only  be  explained  in  the  actual  case  by  the 
axiom,  Major  e  longinquo  reverentia. 

Among  the  active  members  of  the  conspiracy 
Baron  Bielke  must  be  reckoned  ;  but  however 
active  they  were,  the  arm  capable  of  striking 
was  not  of  their  number  :  they  were  but  the 
heads  that  planned  the  deed.  He  to  whom 
the  detestable  honour  of  its  achievement  was 


288  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

to  fall  was  Ankarstroem,  one  of  the  two  wlio 
had  walked  in  the  park. 

Ankarstroem,  who  had  been  successively  page, 
sub-officer  in  the  guard,  and  ensign  in  the  body- 
guard, had  left  the  service  in  1788,  when  he 
was  only  twenty-two  years  old. 

He  was  of  a  bold  and  resolute  temper,  both 
morose  and  passionate,  and  strongly  attached 
to  the  prerogatives  of  his  caste.  From  that 
time  he  was  a  malcontent.  He  retired  to 
the  country  with  his  wife,  and  became  more 
and  more  embittered  by  solitude.  Eegardless 
of  restraint,  he  spoke  with  reckless  hostility 
against  royalty,  brought  prosecutions  upon 
himself,  and,  in  fact,  his  whole  life  was  a 
battle. 

This  man  was  then  in  a  state  of  mind  which 
rendered  him  singularly  sensitive  to  the  ills  of 
his  country,  which  seemed  greater  and  more 
terrible  to  him  when  seen  through  the  medium 
of  his  own  grievances.  He  was  ready  for  ven- 
geance, that  is  to  say,  for  murder. 

He  himself  has  related  before  his  judges 
the  reasons  which  impelled  him  to  assassinate 
the  King.  Confronting  the  block,  he  dared 
to  frame  the  indictment  of  his  victim.  The 
grievances  which  he  invoked  were  many.  From 
1789,  pamphlets  of  a  nature  insulting  to  the 
nobility  were  circulated  without  interference, 
and  the  King  "had  attempted"  the  liberties 
of  members  of  the  Diet.  Then  came  the  "Act 
of  Security,"  which  destroyed  the  last  barriers 
that  had  been  opposed  to  the  royal  "  all-power." 
With  this  were  cited  the  insensate  prodigality 


ANKAESTROEM'S  AVOWAL  289 

that  was  emptying  tlie  treasury  and  ruining  the 
nation.  In  order  to  extract  further  sums,  the 
King  threatened  the  Diet ;  the  hall  was  sur- 
rounded by  soldiers,  and  almost  invaded  by 
a  mob  incited  by  him.  Notwithstanding  this 
terrible  pressure,  the  majority  rejected  the 
proposition  of  the  King :  the  latter  declared 
it  accepted.  Nor  was  this  all :  had  he  not 
declared  war  without  having  the  assent  of  the 
Estates,  which  was  required  by  the  Constitution? 

"  Kings,"  said  he,  *'  who  are  but  poor  sinners 
like  other  men,  have  no.  authority  except 
through  the  confidence  of  the  nation,  and 
that  confidence  is  theirs  only  so  long  as  they 
continue  to  deserve  it  by  their  respect  for  law 
and  liberty. 

"These  are  the  reflections  that  have  de- 
cided me.  My  heart  was  hardened  when  I  saw 
exile,  and  punishment,  and  all  sorts  of  taxes 
and  subsidies  multiplied,  to  supply  the  expense 
of  luxury  and  foreign  travel.  Nor  was  this 
all ;  a  Diet  was  announced  only  three  weeks 
in  advance,  so  that  there  was  hardly  time  for 
the  necessary  elections ;  it  was  summoned  in 
a  little  town  far  from  the  capital,  so  that  it 
might  be  difficult  to  come  to  it,  and  to  stay'. 

"  In  the  presence  of  such  facts,  I  asked 
myself :  '  Shall  this  man  continue  to  be  our 
king — this  man,  capable  of  violating  the  oath 
which  he  took  to  the  people,  to  observe, 
maintain,  and  bequeath  to  his  successors  the 
Constitution  of  1772,  a  Constitution  drawn  up 
hy  himself,  and  accepted  without  amendment 
hy  the  Swedish  nation  f 


29©  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

"According  to  my  conviction,  this  man  has 
become  a  perjurer ;  he  has  ceased  to  be  king. 
The  compact  between  the  nation  and  himself 
is  broken.  Moreover,  it  is  written  in  the 
law  that  he  who  shall  endeavour  to  change 
or  to  destroy  that  fundamental  law  shall  be 
regarded  as  an  enemy  of  the  kingdom.  Now, 
by  his  '  Act  of  Security,'  King  Gustavus  has 
become  a  public  enemy,  and  as  m  an  or- 
ganised society  there  must  he  mutual  defence 
and  protection,  the  hand  that  desires  to  arm 
itself,  in  order  hy  force  to  repel  the  force  that 
was  threatening  the  community,  ought  to  he 
permitted  to  do  so.  I  had  then  resolved,  imme- 
diately after  Christmas,  to  kill  the  King ;  the 
shortest  way  appeared  to  me  to  give  my  life 
for  the  public  good.  To  live,  unhappy,  for  ten 
years  more  or  ten  years  less,  was  nothing 
to  my  mind  in  comparison  with  the  hope  of 
restoring  happiness  to  my  country." 

Ankarstroem,  devoutly  believing  his  cause  to 
be  good,  accepted  the  role  of  justiciary,  which 
his  accomplices  awarded  to  him,  without  hesita- 
tion. It  has  been  said  that  he  received  a  sum 
of  money,  and  the  thing  is  possible,  but  he  was 
not  actuated  by  the  greed  of  gain.  He  had 
made  the  sacrifice  of  his  life  in  anticipation, 
for  the  chances  of  his  escaping  the  penalty 
of  his  deed  were  small.  Resolved  as  he  was,  it 
was  not  a  few  riksdalers  that  would  have  nerved 
his  arm  ;  the  money,  if  he  did  receive  it,  was 
a  provision  for  his  wife ;  and  if  it  was  the  price 
of  blood,  it  was  the  price  of  his  own  blood 
rather  than  the  King's. 


A  WARNING 


291 


The  arrangements  being  made,  the  murder 
decided  upon,  the  doer  of  the  deed  selected,  it 
remained  to  choose  a  propitious  opportunity. 
One  presented  itself  very  soon  ;  it  became  known 
that  the  King  would  attend  the  masked  ball 
at  the  opera  on  the  i6th  of  March  1792.  In 
the  midst  of  the  crowd  the  conspirators  could 
approach  their  victim,  and  their  masks  would 
protect  them  from  recognition.  The  complicity 
of  Liliehorn  (the  captain  of  the  King's  body- 
guard) secured  their  means  of  escape. 

In  the  meantime,  a  vague  and  uncertain 
rumour  warned  the  Ejng  of  the  danger  that 
threatened  him.  He  would  not  pay  any  heed  to 
it ;  the  torment  of  perpetually  trembling  for  fear 
of  a  bullet,  a  dagger-stroke,  or  poison,  seemed 
to  him  worse  than  the  attempt  itself.  He  re- 
solved to  carry  out  his  intention,  and  to  go  to 
the  ball. 

A  few  hours  previously,  when  he  was  supping 
with  his  favourite.  Baron  Essen,  a  note  which 
had  been  mysteriously  brought  was  handed  to 
him.  The  King  opened  it,  read  it  twice  atten- 
tively, and,  without  saying  anything,  slipped  it 
into  his  pocket.  The  note,  written  in  pencil 
in  French,  warned  him  that  a  plot  had  been 
formed  against  him,  entreated  the  Bang  not  to 
go  to  the  ball,  and  advised  him  to  govern  in 
another  fashion  thenceforth,  and  thereby  disarm 
the  anger  of  his  enemies. 

This  denunciation,  whether  true  or  false,  de- 
served attention.  The  King  despised,  not  the 
warning,  but  the  danger.  He  was  determined 
to  have  done  with  the  matter ;  so  he  went  to 


292  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

the  opera,  and  passed  into  a  little  room,  where 
he  put  on  a  domino.  Not  until  then  did  he 
let  Essen  see  the  note.  Essen,  greatly  alarmed, 
besought  the  King  not  to  go  down  on  the  stage, 
but  Gustavus  would  not  listen  to  him. 

"  Let  us  see  whether  they  will  dare  to  kill 
me,"  said  he. 

Essen  followed  him,  keeping  close  upon  his 
footsteps ;  he  felt  the  full  extent  of  the  danger, 
for,  in  spite  of  their  masks,  they  had  been  re- 
cognised. A  general  whispering  had  announced 
the  King. 

Presently  the  crowd  gathered  around  them ;  a 
group  separated  them  and  surrounded  Gustavus. 
A  man  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  saying — 

"  Bonjour,  beau  masque  I" 

This  was  the  signal.  At  these  words,  uttered 
by  Count  Horn,  Ankarstroem  drew  a  pistol  from 
his  pocket  and  fired  point-blank  at  the  King. 

"  I  am  wounded  !  Arrest  him  ! "  exclaimed 
the  King. 

But  a  cry  was  instantly  raised  on  all  sides — 
"  Fire  !  Fire  !  Save  yourselves  ! "  Utter  con- 
fusion prevailed.  Nevertheless,  Baron  Armfeldt 
had  the  presence  of  mind  to  have  the  doors  shut. 
None  of  those  present  could  get  out  without 
unmasking  and  giving  his  or  her  name.  The 
crowd  therefore  dispersed  slowly,  and  after  a 
while  only  one  person  remained.  He  walked 
in  a  leisurely  manner  towards  the  door,  slowly 
removed  his  mask,  and  said  carelessly  to  the 
officer  on  duty — 

"  As  for  me,  sir,  I  hope  you  will  not  sus- 
pect me." 


A  EANDOM  SHOT 


293 


"  You  are  mistaken ;  I  believe  that  it  was 
you,"  replied  the  police  officer  at  hazard. 

The  individual  showed  some  perturbation, 
but  he  was  allowed  to  pass.  It  was  Ankar- 
stroem. 

Gustavus  did  not  die  on  the  spot,  although 
the  whole  charge  had  been  lodged  in  his  side. 
He  was  carried  into  an  adjoining  room  and 
laid  on  a  sofa ;  there  the  wound  was  dressed. 
The  King  retained  complete  presence  of  mind, 
and  issued  his  commands  with  perfect  clear- 
ness. He  sent  for  his  brother,  the  Duke  of 
Sudermania,  although  his  conduct  had  been 
most  suspicious.  It  was  said  that  the  Duke, 
who  was  extremely  ambitious,  and  believed  in 
a  prediction  which  had  promised  him  the 
throne,  had  been  aware  of  the  plot.  The 
page  who  was  despatched  to  him  found 
him  dressed,  booted,  and  ready  to  mount  his 
horse. 

Gustavus  III.  did  not  believe  in  his  brother's 
complicity.  He  did  not  know  whose  was  the 
hand  that  had  struck  him,  or  whom  they  were 
that  directed  it ;  but  was  fully  occupied  by 
the  main  subject  of  his  thoughts  for  a  year 
past,  and  solicitous  above  all  about  the  effect 
of  the  news  upon  Paris. 

"  This  shot  will  rejoice  your  Paris  Jacobins," 
he  said  to  the  Due  d'Escars,  a  French  gentle- 
man who  was  by  his  side ;  "  but  write  to 
the  Princes  that,  if  I  get  over  this,  my  feelings 
and  my  zeal  for  their  just  cause  will  be  in  no 
wise  altered." 

The  murderer  had  thrown  away  the  pistol, 


294  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

but  it  was  picked  up,  and  tlie  gunsmitli  who 
laad  sold  it  shortly  before  was  found  imme- 
diately. Ankarstroem  was  discovered  by  this 
means,  and  arrested  on  the  following  day. 

He  was  asked  the  names  of  his  accomplices, 
but  refused  to  give  them.  The  conspirators 
betrayed  themselves.  Liliehorn,  that  singular 
traitor  who  wrote  the  letter  which  Gustavus 
received  a  few  hours  before  the  ball,  was 
taken  the  same  day,  and  shortly  afterwards 
Horn,  Eibbing,  Bielke,  and  Pechlin  were 
arrested. 

The  King  appeared  to  be  recovering ;  the 
wound  was  doing  well.  As  it  happens  in 
such  cases,  the  crime  had  simply  reversed  its 
intention.  The  powerful  sovereign  was  hated ; 
when  struck  down,  he  regained  the  sympathy 
of  all. 

Among  his  former  adversaries  were  the  re- 
presentatives of  the  most  illustrious  families 
in  the  kingdom.  Count  Brake  and  Count 
Frederick  Fersen.  These  gentlemen,  his  loyal 
opponents,  did  not  choose  to  be  supposed  to  be 
instigators  or  accomplices,  or  even  approvers, 
of  a  murder ;  and  they  made  it  a  point  of 
honour  to  declare  this  loudly — a  proceeding 
by  which  they  regained  the  alienated  regard 
of  their  king. 

"I  do  not  regret  this  accident,"  said  Gus- 
tavus to  them,  "  since  it  procures  me  the  pleasure 
of  a  reconciliation  with  the  representatives  of 
the  nobility." 

The  "instruction"  preliminary  to  the  trial 
began.      Each  day  new  accomplices  were  dis- 


THE  VISION  VEEIFIED  295 

covered.  Did  the  danger  of  being  unmasked 
in  which  certain  high  personages  stood  in 
their  turn  suggest  a  guilty  resource  to  some  of 
them?  We  do  not  know,  but  it  is  certain 
that  a  sudden  change  in  the  state  of  the 
wounded  King  took  place  on  the  25  th  March. 
His  convalescence  was  checked,  high  fever  set 
in,  and  after  four  days  of  agony  the  unfortu- 
nate monarch  died,  leaving  a  son  thirteen  years 
old  as  his  heir,  and  as  Kegent  the  Duke  of 
Sudermania,  his  brother. 

Gustavus  displayed  admirable  courage  and 
coolness  during  his  last  days.  He  requested 
that  the  actual  murderer  only  should  be  put 
to  death,  and  that  mercy  should  be  shown 
to  his  accomplices.  His  injunctions  were  ob- 
served. Count  Horn,  Ribbing,  and  the  others 
were  banished ;  only  Ankarstroem  paid  for  his 
crime  with  his  life. 

He  was  as  brave  in  the  face  of  death  as 
his  victim ;  he  refused  to  name  those  who 
had  aided  or  urged  him  to  commit  the  deed ; 
he  proudly  assumed  the  entire  responsibility 
of  it,  and  no  threats,  no  ill-treatment  availed 
to  move  him  from  his  haughty  attitude. 
Without  any  apparent  emotion  he  listened 
to  the  sentence  that  condemned  him  to  be 
beaten  with  rods  on  three  successive  days, 
conveyed  to  the  scaffold  in  a  common  cart, 
and  beheaded  after  his  right  hand  had  been 
cut  off. 

He  endured  these  tortures,  and  met  his  death 
with  the  same  sombre  courage. 

Thus  was  the  prediction  realised  to  the  letter ; 


296  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

tlie  bleeding  corpse  was  that  of  Gustavus  III. ; 
the  boy  standing  on  the  right  of  the  throne 
was  Gustavus  IV. ;  the  middle-aged  man  on 
the  left  was  the  Duke  of  Sudermania ;  the 
young  man  brought  thither  and  beheaded  was 
Ankarstroem. 

The  Swedes  were  under  no  mistake  con- 
cerning the  causes  of  their  King's  death ;  but 
a  different  impression  prevailed  in  Europe, 
where  Gustavus,  like  Leopold,  was  regarded 
as  a  victim  of  the  Eevolution.  This  was  not 
the  case ;  as  yet  the  Eevolution  threatened 
royalty  only,  and  not  kings. 

Count  Fersen  had  been  kept  informed  of 
all  these  tragic  events,  but  the  better  news, 
sent  after  the  crime  of  the  i6th  of  March, 
had  completely  relieved  him  from  any  fear  of 
its  consequences ;  he  believed  in  a  speedy 
cure,  and  continued  to  write  long  political 
letters  to  his  King,  who  was  never  to  receive 
them.  At  length,  about  the  middle  of  April, 
he  learned  the  truth  by  a  letter  despatched 
from  Stockholm  by  Baron  Taube  on  the 
29th  of  March.  In  his  answer  (i8th  of 
April)  he  gave  full  expression  to  his  grief : 
"  I  cannot  be  consoled  for  the  dreadful  loss 
that  we  have  sustained.  Every  day  my  grief 
is  renewed  by  the  remembrances  of  his  kind- 
ness— that  remembrance  will  never  leave  me, 
and  my  gratitude  will  end  only  with  my  life. 
Good  God !  why  can  I  not  offer  him  the 
homage  of  that  life  ?  You  will  know  what 
pleasure  it  would  give  me  to  have  his  por- 
trait, if  that  may  be  so.  ..." 


WAR !  297 

He  had  written  immediately  to  Marie  An- 
toinette :  "  You  will  have  already  heard  the 
sad  and  overwhelming  news  of  the  King's 
death.  In  him  you  lose  a  strong  support,  a 
good  ally,  and  I  a  friend  and  patron.  This 
is  a  cruel  loss." 

It  might  be  thought  that  the  death  of 
this  chivalrous  and  disinterested  King  would 
have  had  great  weight  in  the  decisions  of 
the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  and  that  the  cause 
of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  had  lost 
its  best  and  most  effective  support  in  losing 
him  who  was  actively  seeking  champions  for 
the  royal  family  of  France.  But  human  fears 
as  well  as  human  previsions  are  constantly  con- 
tradicted by  events  which  control  men  instead 
of  men  controlling  them.  The  proof  of  this 
was  not  long  delayed.  Gustavus  dead,  his  idea 
was  realised,  and  war,  which  he  had  vainly  de- 
sired to  let  loose  in  his  lifetime,  broke  out  of  its 
own  accord. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  situation  in  France — Isnard's  words — A  summons  to  the 
Electors  of  Treves  and  Mayence,  and  to  the  other  Princes 
of  the  Empire,  to  put  an  end  to  the  massing  of  troops  upon 
the  frontier — The  reply  of  Francis,  King  of  Bohemia  and 
Hungary — Declaration  of  the  "State  of  War" — Satisfaction 
of  the  Queen  and  Count  Fersen — Correspondence  in  cipher 
— M.  Rignon — The  20th  of  June — The  Queen's  despatches 
— "It  is  said,  but  I  do  not  believe  it" — Lafayette  proposes 
a  plan  of  flight— The  arrival  of  the  Marseillais — A  manifesto 
by  the  Duke  of  Brunswick — M.  de  Limon's  text  modified 
by  Count  Fersen — It  is  proposed  to  ask  for  a  declaration 
by  the  King  of  England  in  favour  of  the  royal  family  of 
France — The  loth  of  August— The  National  Assembly  and 
the  Temple — Lafayette  is  made  prisoner— The  September 
massacres — The  death  of  Mme.  de  Lamballe — Manuel's 
words — M.  de  Mercy — Dumouriez — Valmy  (20th  September 
1792) — Sufferings  of  the  troops  and  the  emigrants — The 
Duke  of  Brunswick's  retreat — Count  Fersen  leaves  Brussels 
— Jemmapes  (6th  November  1792). 

For  some  months  "War  had  been  in  the  air 
of  France,  troubling  and  agitating  her.  The 
dwellers  in  fortunate  countries  which  have  en- 
joyed a  long  era  of  peace  and  tranquillity 
are  enabled  to  devote  themselves  to  labour, 
commerce,  and  industry,  and  they  ask  no 
better  than  the  perpetuation  of  the  benefits  of 
their  condition ;  but  for  those  peoples  who  are 
subjected  to  interior  disturbances,  and  whose 
existence  is  highly  feverish,  there  is  in  the  perils 
and  the  hoped-for  results  of  war  a  powerful 
stimulant,  which  they  long  for  and  demand. 
In  1792,  the  masses,  who  suffered,  and  who 


PAETIES  299 

attributed  the  excess  of  their  ills  to  the  Emi- 
grants assembled  upon  the  frontiers,  and  to 
the  foreign  Governments  their  accomplices  and 
support,  regarded  war  as  the  only  possible  solu- 
tion of  the  situation. 

It  was  a  curious  thing  that  the  political 
parties  were  not  opposed  to  war,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Jacobins,  who  probably  dreaded 
victory  more  than  defeat.  The  Feuillants  and 
the  Girondists  willingly  accepted  the  idea,  and 
in  their  hearts  the  faithful  Koyalists,  who 
divined  the  secret  wishes  of  the  King  and 
Queen,  ardently  desired  it,  for  they  believed 
in  defeat,  and  reckoned  upon  the  victorious 
armies  of  the  coalition  to  destroy  the  Eevolution 
and  re-establish  order  in  France. 

Even  the  Humanitarians,  those  to  whom 
the  shedding  of  blood  was  hateful,  and  whose 
dreams  were  of  universal  brotherhood,  did  not 
recoil  from  so  grave  an  eventuality.  Who 
could  say  what  might  be  the  result  of  the 
meeting  of  the  armies,  of  the  contact  of  the 
poor  soldiers,  sent  out  by  the  sovereigns  to  kill 
in  their  cause,  with  the  free  defenders  of  the 
French  nation  ?  Isnard,  the  deputy,  speaking 
from  the  tribune,  had  given  utterance  to  that 
hope  in  language  worthy  of  it,  full  of  the 
pretentious  naivete  of  the  period. 

"  If,"  he  said,  "  at  the  moment  when  the 
enemies'  armies  shall  meet  ours  in  conflict, 
philosophy  reveals  itself  to  them  [frap'pe  leurs 
yeux),  the  peoples  will  embrace  before  the  face 
of  the  dethroned  tyrants,  the  consoled  earth, 
and  the  glad  heaven  ! " 


300  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEI^" 

The  prospect  of  so  fair  a  spectacle,  due  to 
the  triumph  of  philosophy,  captivated  the 
Assembly,  and  urged  it  to  a  decisive  step. 
The  "  executive  power "  was  charged  to  de- 
mand that  the  Electors  of  Treves  and  other 
Princes  of  the  Empire  should  renounce  their 
culpable  toleration  of  the  Emigrants,  and  dis- 
perse the  assemblages  of  such  persons  upon 
the  frontiers. 

The  natural  result  of  this  summons  was  "  to 
set  fire  to  the  powder."  Far  from  returning 
a  satisfactory  reply,  the  Princes  only  increased 
their  "  toleration "  of  the  Emigrants,  and 
Francis,  who  had  taken  the  title  of  King  of 
Bohemia  and  Hungary  on  the  death  of  Leopold, 
before  being  proclaimed  Emperor  of  Austria, 
replied  by  a  note  demanding  "  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  French  monarchy  on  the  bases 
fixed  by  the  royal  declaration  of  the  23rd  of 
June  1789;"  that  is  to  say,  the  re-estab- 
lishment of  the  three  Orders,  the  restitution 
of  the  goods  of  the  clergy,  the  retrocession 
of  the  county  of  Venaissain  to  the  Pope — in 
a  word,  the  abolition  of  all  the  measures  voted 
by  the  Constituent  Assembly. 

This  demand  was  sufficiently  audacious.  By 
what  right  did  the  King  of  Bohemia  and 
Hungary  meddle  in  the  affairs  of  JFrance? 
He  might  have  been  answered  at  once  by  an 
ultimatum  requiring  him  to  refrain  from  any 
such  domineering  demands,  and  this  would 
have  been  equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war. 
No  such  conclusive  step  was  taken ;  the  parties 
hostile   to   the    Court   were    reluctant   to   rush 


THE  QUEEN'S  SENTIMENTS  301 

into  a  war  in  which  they  saw  that  the  King 
wished  to  engage. 

It  was  decided  that  the  "  state  of  war " 
should  be  declared,  with  the  idea  that,  by  going 
no  farther  than  stating  a  fact,  responsibility 
for  a  rupture  would  be  placed  upon  the  foreign 
Powers  (20th  April  1792). 

Since  the  return  from  Varennes,  Marie  Antoi- 
nette was  convinced  that  the  only  way  of  sal- 
vation for  the  royal  family  lay  in  the  armed 
intervention  of  Europe.  This  alone  would 
have  power  to  reduce  the  rebellious  subjects 
of  the  King  to  submission — this  alone  could 
restore  its  legitimate  authority  to  the  monarchy. 
She  was  rejoiced  at  the  declaration  of  the 
"state  of  war."  On  the  19th  of  April  she 
wrote  to  Count  Fersen  : — 

"  The  Ministers  and  the  Jacobins  make  the 
King  declare  war  on  the  House  of  Austria  to- 
morrow, on  the  pretext  that  by  the  treaties  of 
last  year  the  treaty  of  alliance  made  in  1756 
has  been  broken,  and  that  no  categorical  reply 
to  the  last  despatch  has  been  made.  The 
Ministers  hope  this  proceeding  will  create  fear, 
and  that  negotiations  will  be  opened  in  three 
weeks.  May  God  grant  it  may  not  he  so, 
and  that  at  last  vengeance  may  he  taken  for 
all  the  outrages  of  this  country." 

Count  Fersen  was  no  less  pleased.  Imme- 
diately on  receiving  the  news,  he  addressed  a 
letter  containing  his  impression  on  the  subject 
to  the  Queen ;  this  letter  was  conveyed  to  her 
in  a  box  of  biscuits. 

"  M.  de  Thugut  has  told  the  Baron  (Breteuil) 

14 


302  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

that  the  King  of  Hungary  had  stated  that 
he  was  weary  of  all  that  was  going  on  in 
France ;  that  he  was  resolved  to  put  an  end 
to  it,  and  to  act ;  that  he  was  about  to  set 
his  troops  in  motion  in  concert  with  the  King 
of  Prussia ;  that  if  the  French  attacked,  they 
were  to  be  amused  for  six  weeks  or  two  months 
until  the  armies  could  arrive ;  that  if  they 
did  not  attack,  he  was  resolved  all  the  same 
to  attack  them,  and  that  they  must  be  cajoled 
by  appearances  of  peace  until  the  moment  at 
which  he  could  act. 

"  I  received  the  news  of  the  declaration  of 
war  yesterday,  and  I  am  very  glad  of  it.  It  is 
the  best  and  the  only  means  of  bringing  the 
Powers  to  a  decision  at  last." 

The  object  was  to  make  the  ardently  desired 
intervention,  now  at  length  obtained,  produce 
the  happy  results  that  were  expected  from 
it.  The  invading  forces,  if  conquered,  would 
not  only  be  unable  to  co-operate  for  the 
deliverance  of  the  royal  family,  but  would  in- 
evitably ensure  their  destruction.  Nobody  was 
under  any  mistake  on  this  point ;  accordingly, 
we  find  Count  Fersen  setting  to  work  with 
indefatigable  zeal  and  activity  to  avert  such 
a  misfortune,  and  Marie  Antoinette  sparing 
no  pains  on  her  part.  Both  were  fully  aware 
that  they  were  playing  a  very  dangerous  game, 
and  they  took  every  possible  precaution  for  the 
safety  of  their  mutual  communications.  We 
already  know,  by  a  despatch  addressed  to  M. 
de  Mercy  on  the  29th  of  March  1792,  and 
published   in   the   Arneth   collection,    that  the 


THE  QUEEJ^'S  CORRESPONDENCE         303 

Queen  did  not  hesitate  to  reveal  the  political 
and  military  plans  of  the  French  Government ; 
but  it  was  not  known  until  the  papers  left 
by  Count  Fersen  were  brought  to  light  how 
active  was  the  part  she  took  in  the  events 
of  that  particular  period.  Her  correspondence 
may  be  described  as  incessant.  She  usually 
employed  Goguelat's  hand,  and  she  arranged 
a  complete  plan  of  correspondence  with  Fersen, 
so  contrived  as  to  mislead  suspicion,  if  by  any 
mishap  one  of  her  letters  were  to  fall  into 
inimical  hands. 

The  means  she  had  hitherto  employed — 
cipher,  invisible  ink,  missives  hidden  in  boxes 
of  tea  or  biscuits,  or  in  the  cover  of  the 
Moniteur,  no  longer  sufficed,  and  she  resorted 
to  a  very  clever  stratagem.  She  was  to  dic- 
tate to  Goguelat  business  letters,  which  a 
friend  was  to  be  supposed  to  send  to  a  M. 
Eignon.  A  number  of  things  were  to  be  men- 
tioned, but  at  a  spot  indicated  by  a  sign, 
the  fictitious  correspondence  was  to  cease, 
and  important  news  was  to  be  conveyed  in 
a  manner  previously  arranged  according  to  a 
key — in  short,  what  we  should  now  call  a  code. 

On  the  5th  of  June  the  Queen  writes  on 
this  plan.  The  letter  is  worth  reproducing, 
for  it  is  a  good  example  of  the  method. 

"  I  received  your  letter  No.  7,  and  pro- 
ceeded immediately  to  withdraw  your  funds 
from  the  Boscaris  firm.  There  was  no  time 
to  lose,  for  the  bankruptcy  was  declared  yes- 
terday, and  this  morning  the  matter  was 
made  public   at  the  Bourse.     It  is  said   that 


304  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

the  creditors  will  lose  heavily.  Here  is  a 
statement  of  the  various  matters  which  I  have 
in  my  hands." 

Then  follows  the  coded  portion,  written  out 
by  Count  Fersen  : — 

"  Orders  are  given  that  Luckner's  forces 
shall  attack  at  once;  he  is  opposed  to  this, 
hut  the  Ministry  will  have  it.  The  troops  are 
in  want  of  everything,  and  are  in  the  greatest 
disorder." 

Then  the  letter  is  resumed  : — 

"  You  will  instruct  me  what  I  shall  do 
with  these  funds.  If  I  had  the  decision,  I 
should  invest  them  to  advantage  in  some  of 
the  fine  domains  of  the  clergy.  This  is,  accord- 
ing to  what  I  hear,  the  best  way  of  investing 
money,"  &c.,  &c. 

She  skilfully  contrives  to  convey  the  news 
concerning  herself  even  in  the  "  padding "  por- 
tion of  the  missive.  The  allusions  in  the 
passage  which  ends  the  letter  are  obvious, 
and  easy  to  be  understood :  "  Your  friends 
are  pretty  well.  The  loss  they  have  sustained 
grieves  them  much.  I  do  what  I  can  to 
console  them.  They  think  the  re-estahlish- 
ment  of  their  fortune  impossible,  or  at  least 
very  far  off.  Give  them,  if  you  can,  some 
consolation  in  respect  of  this;  they  have 
need  of  it;  their  position  becomes  more 
dreadful  every  day.  Adieu.  Keceive  their 
compliments,  and  the  assurance  of  my  entire 
devotion." 

The  next  day  but  one  she  sends  him 
the  following  :  "  My  Constit.  (Constitutionalists) 


CODED  COMMUNICATIONS  305 

are  sending  a  man  to  Vienna ;  he  will  pass 
through  Brussels.  M.  de  Mercy  must  be  in- 
structed to  treat  him  as  if  he  were  announced 
and  recommended  by  the  Q.  (Queen)  to  nego- 
tiate with  him  in  the  sense  of  the  memo- 
randum which  I  have  sent  him.  It  is  desired 
that  he  write  to  Vienna  to  announce  him 
(the  envoy),  to  urge  that  it  be  carefully  con- 
cealed from  him  that  I  have  ever  sent  there, 
and  to  say  that  we  hold  by  the  plan  made 
by  the  Courts  of  V.  and  B.  (Vienna  and 
Berlin),  but  that  it  is  necessary  to  appear 
to  enter  into  the  views  of  the  Const. ;  and, 
above  all,  to  urge  that  it  is  according  to  the 
desires  and  demands  of  the  Q.  :  these  measures 
are  very  necessary.  .  .   . 

"Tell  M.  de  Mercy  that  we  (on)  cannot 
write  to  him,  because  we  (on)  are  too  closely 
watched." 

All  this  was  wrapped  up  in  details  of  the 
Boscaris  bankruptcy,  advice  to  buy  confiscated 
church  property,  &c.,  &c. 

At  this  point,  and  in  order  to  meet  a  possible 
objection,  perhaps  it  may  be  well  to  prove 
that  these  letters  really  did  emanate  from  the 
Queen,  although  they  were  not  signed  or 
written  by  her  own  hand :  the  matter  is  of 
importance,  considering  the  gravity  of  the  in- 
formation which  they  contain. 

Their  authenticity  might  be  taken  as  proved 
by  the  simple  fact  that  Count  Fersen  deci- 
phered them,  and  classed  them  in  the  collection 
of  his  correspondence  with  Marie  Antoinette ; 
but    conclusive    evidence    is    afibrded   (as  the 


3o6  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

editors  of  M.  de  Fersen  et  la  Cour  de  France 
point  out)  by  a  passage  in  a  letter  of  Fersen's 
to  Baron  Stedingk,  who  was  at  that  time 
Swedish  Ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg.  This 
passage  contains  the  clearest  possible  state- 
ment : — 

"  The  Queen,  in  sending  me  the  mandate  of 
this    Constitutional  Ambassador   who    was    to 
pass  through  here,  says   to   me:   ^Instruct  M. 
de  Mercy,'  dc." 

The  whole  passage  already  given  is  re-copied 
by  him,  and  he  adds  : — 

"  I  have  communicated  all  this  to  the  Comte 
de  Mercy,  who  has  promised  me  to  write  to 
Vienna  to  the  same  effect."  Beyond  this,  he 
wrote  in  his  journal:  '^Sunday  the  loth.  .  .  . 
Letter  from  the  Queen  of  France.  Orders  to 
Luckner  to  attach"  &c. 

It  is  therefore  impossible  to  cast  any  doubt 
upon  the  authenticity  of  the  quoted  documents. 

Count  Fersen  employed  a  certain  Madame 
Toscani,  who  was  a  confidential  person  in  the 
service  of  Mrs.  Sullivan,  to  convey  the  answers 
to  these  letters.  It  will  be  seen  that  he 
endeavoured  to  encourage  the  unfortunate 
Queen. 

"  How  deeply  I  grieve  for  your  position ; 
my  mind  is  strongly  and  painfully  impressed 
by  it.  Try  only  to  stay  in  Paris  and  they 
{on)  will  come  to  your  help.  The  King  of 
Prussia  is  resolved  upon  this,  and  you  may 
count  upon  it "  ( 1 1  th  June). 

But  would  the  promised  succour  arrive  in 
time?      The  Revolution   moved   more   quickly 


TUMULT  AT  THE  TUILERIES  307 

than  did  the  monarcliies,  and  only  a  few  days 
had  elapsed  after  the  interchange  of  these 
letters  when  Count  Fersen  received  distressing 
and  alarming  news. 

"Dreadful  account  of  the  attempt  at  the 
Tuileries  on  the  21st,"  he  writes  in  his  journal. 
"  Horrible  !  it  is  appended  to  this ;  the  ensuing 
events  make  one  shudder.  ..." 

The  narrative  had  been  sent  to  him  by 
the  Swedish  Charge  d'Affaires  at  Paris,  M. 
Bergstedt.  It  told  that  the  Tuileries  had  been 
invaded  by  a  crowd  of  nearly  50,000  persons 
armed  with  pikes,  and  shouting  "Down  with 
Monsieur  Veto  !  Madame  Veto,  and  all  their 
brood ! "  The  doors,  either  ill-guarded  or  not 
guarded  at  all,  had  afforded  free  passage  to 
this  mob,  which  spread  itself  tumultuously  all 
over  the  palace.  The  King  had  sought  to 
resist  the  torrent  by  taking  refuge  in  the  deep 
bay  of  a  window,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  few 
faithful  grenadiers.  He  had  been  exposed  to 
great  dangers,  and  had  confronted  them  with 
cool  courage.  The  details  that  were  given 
afford  proof  of  this.  An  individual  approached 
him,  brandishing  his  pike  and  shouting, 
"  Where  is  he,  that  I  may  kill  him  ? "  but 
the  perfect  composure  of  the  King  daunted 
the  ruffian.  Louis,  however,  while  steadfastly 
refusing  to  withdraw  his  veto  on  certain  decrees 
of  the  Assembly,  had  thought  proper  to  yield 
to  a  popular  whim,  and  consented  to  put  a 
red  cap  on  his  head. 

The  Queen  was  in  the  Dauphin's  apartment. 
Hearing  the  shouts,  she  ran  to  the  spot,  but 


3o8  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

she  was  separated  from  the  King,  and  had  to 
stand  alone  against  vile  abuse  and  threats. 
"  The  Queen  heard  her  head  demanded  several 
times,  and  her  face  never  changed.'"' 

We  find  among  Count  Fersen's  papers  a 
note  without  a  date  and  without  a  beginning, 
which  must  bear  reference  to  this  period.  It 
had  been  brought  to  him  by  Leonard,  the 
Queen's  hairdresser. 

"/)o  not  torment  yourself  too  much  on  my 
account.  Believe  me,  courage  will  always  make 
itself  felt.  The  line  which  we  have  just  taken 
will,  I  hope,  give  us  time  to  wait,  but  six 
weeks  is  a  very  long  time.  Adieu  !  Hasten,  if 
you  can,  the  succour  which  is  promised  us  for 
our  deliverance." 

(Written  in  invisible  ink.) 

"  I  still  exist,  but  it  is  a  miracle.  The  20th 
was  an  awful  day.  It  was  not  I  who  was  the 
chief  object ;  it  was  my  husband's  very  life 
they  sought  to  take ;  they  no  longer  conceal 
this.  He  showed  firmness  and  strength,  which 
made  an  impression  upon  them  for  the  moment, 
but  our  danger  may  be  renewed  at  any  minute. 
Adieu  !  Take  care  of  yourself  for  our  sake,  and 
do  not  distress  yourself  about  us." 

In  this  repeated  injunction  "  not  to  torment 
himself  on  her  account,"  we  trace  all  the 
refinement  of  friendship  which  grieves  at  the 
thought  of  the  friend's  distress.  Poor  woman  ! 
she  deserves  praise  for  having  kept  up  any 
courage  and  composure  under  the  terrible  cir- 
cumstances, for  she  was  but  feebly  sustained 
by  her  surroundings. 


THE  "FEENCH  PRINCES"  309 

Louis  XVL,  who  had  borne  himself  nobly, 
with  passive  resignation,  in  the  face  of  the 
howling  crowd,  had  fallen  back  into  his  habitual 
apathy.  It  is  heart-sickening  to  read  in  his 
journal  what  he  says,  in  the  fewest  possible 
words,  about  those  terrible  events  : — 

"  Wednesday,  the  20th  of  June. — Affair  of  the 
Tuileries." 

On  the  following  days  he  finds  only  one 
word  to  write — '' Nothing."  On  the  25th  he 
merely  notes : — 

"  Walked  after  Mass  in  the  courtyard  and 
the  gardens  with  my  son,  to  see  the  National 
Guards." 

Meanwhile,  the  King's  brothers  beyond  the 
frontier  were  losing  no  opportunity  of  augment- 
ing his  danger  by  their  attitude  and  their 
talk.  They  had  already  replied  with  charming 
involuntary  modesty  to  a  letter  from  Louis  XVL, 
in  which,  according  to  the  new  Constitution, 
they  were  styled  "French  princes,"  that  "this 
title  did  not  belong  to  them."  After  the  20th 
of  June  they  issued  a  manifesto,  which  Count 
Fersen  describes  as  "stupid,  and  insolent  towards 
the  King." 

They  sent  it  "to  all  the  Courts."  A  clever 
thing  to  do  by  way  of  stimulating  the  zeal  of 
the  sovereigns  in  favour  of  Louis  XVL  !  But 
it  is  very  likely  that  they  were  well  aware  of 
what  they  were  doing.  Their  conduct  under 
other  circumstances  had  been  so  egotistical,  so 
obviously  selfish,  that  we  may  question,  with- 
out calumniating  them,  whether  they  were 
not   very  glad   to   decrease  the  distance  that 


3IO  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

lay  between  them  and  the  throne  by  acting 
thus. 

Marie  Antoinette,  notwithstanding  the  perils 
of  the  hour,  and  aware  of  the  urgency  of  the 
need  for  help,  proved  herself  to  be  a  woman 
with  brains,  or  rather  the  man  of  the  family.^ 
She  misjudged  the  situation  ;  she  was  not  a 
politician,  but  believing  that  there  was  a 
chance  of  safety  in  foreign  support,  she  carried 
out  her  idea  on  that  point.  She,  at  least,  was 
persevering,  and  she  acted.  It  was  otherwise 
with  her  husband. 

On  the  23rd  of  June,  she  again  sent  secret 
intelligence  to  Count  Fersen :  *'  Dumouriez 
starts  to-morrow  for  Luchner's  army;  he  has 
promised  to  raise  Brahant.  Saint  -  Huruge 
is  also  setting  out  to  accomplish  the  same 
object" 

The  rest  of  the  letter  went  on  with  the 
pretended  correspondence  on  the  affairs  of 
M.  Rignon ;  but  it  comprised  several  easily 
detected  allusions.  "  Your  friend  is  in  the 
greatest  danger.  Let  his  relations  know  of 
his  unhappy  position." 

On  the  26th  she  wrote :  "  You  will  imme- 
diately receive  particulars  relating  to  the  pur- 
chase I  have  made,  on  your  account,  of  the 
goods  of  the  clergy. 

"  I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot  reassure  you 
concerning  the  position  of  your  friend.  During 
the  last  three  days  the  malady  has  not  made 
progress,  but  none  the  less  the  symptoms  are 

1  As  Napoleon  said  afterwards  of  her  daughter,  the  Duchesse 
d'Angouleine. 


M.  RIGNON  311 

alarming ;  the  most  skilful  physicians  give 
him  up.  Only  a  speedy  crisis  can  save  him, 
and  of  this  there  is  no  sign  as  yet ;  so  that 
we  despair.  Inform  the  persons  who  have  busi- 
ness with  him  of  his  condition,  so  that  they 
may  take  precautions  ;  time  presses.  .  .  ." 

Count  Fersen  understood  this  with  his  in- 
telligence, but  how  keenly  did  he  feel  it  with 
his  heart !  If  the  matter  had  depended  upon  him 
only,  Europe  should  have  fallen  upon  France, 
and  taken  her  victim  out  of  her  clutches;  but 
he  was  not  master,  and  he  had  to  await  events. 
He  exhorted  and  encouraged  the  unfortunate 
Queen  to  patience. 

"  I  received  the  letter  of  the  23rd  yester- 
day ;  there  is  nothing  to  fear  so  long  as  the 
Austrians  are  not  beaten.  A  hundred  thousand 
Dumouriez  will  not  make  this  country  (Brabant) 
revolt,  although  it  is  well  enough  disposed  to 
do  so. 

"  Your  position  gives  me  incessant  anxiety. 
Your  courage  will  be  admired,  and  the  firm 
conduct  of  the  King  will  have  an  excellent 
effect.  I  have  already  sent  the  statement  of 
affairs  everywhere." 

He  communicates  the  plan  of  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick  to  her. 

"  He  is  marching  straight  upon  Paris,  leaving 
the  combined  forces  on  the  frontiers  to  mask 
the  forts,  and  to  prevent  the  troops  that  are 
there  from  acting  elsewhere  and  opposing  his 
operations. 

"  The  Austrians  have  done  a  foolish  thing 
in  attacking  Luckner  on  his  entrance.  .  .  . 


312  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

"You  ought  to  make  Gog.  (Goguelat)  write 
me  on  Sundays  and  Wednesdays  to  give  the 
particulars  of  all  that  is  taking  place.  When 
he  shall  say  to  me :  It  is  said,  hut  I  do  not 
believe  a  word  of  it,  then  I  shall  know  that 
the  thing  is  certain. 

*'  Our  position  is  frightful ;  but  do  not  dis- 
quiet yourself  too  much.  I  feel  strong,  and  I 
have  in  me  something  which  tells  me  that  we 
shall  soon  he  happy  and  safe.  This  idea  only 
consoles  me.  .  .  . 

"  Adieu !  When  shall  we  see  each  other 
again  in  tranquillity  ? " 

However  impossible  such  a  thing  may  seem 
to  us  now,  they  actually  did  think  that  the 
moment  was  approaching.  Count  Fersen  wrote 
on  the  loth  of  July:  "They  are  hurrying  the 
operations  as  much  as  possible ;  the  arrival  of 
the  Prussians  is  already  a  little  accelerated, 
and  in  the  first  days  of  August  they .  can 
begin.  ..." 

The  Queen  sometimes  yielded  to  hope,  even 
in  those  sad  days ;  this  correspondence  kept 
her  up.  Mme.  Campan  gives  a  curious  proof 
that  it  did  so.  Speaking  of  Marie  Antoinette, 
she  says :  "  She  was  always  awake  at  dawn 
of  day,  and  desired  that  neither  the  outside 
shutters  nor  the  blinds  should  be  closed,  so 
that  her  long  sleepless  nights  might  be  less 
wearisome. 

"About  the  middle  of  one  of  these  nights, 
when  her  room  was  lighted  by  the  moon,  she 
gazed  at  it  and  said  to  me  that  a  month  hence 
she  should  look  at  that  moon  when  she  should  he 


MMK  CAMPAN'S  STATEMENT  313 

loosed  from  her  chains  and  see  the  King  at 
liberty.  Then  she  confided  to  me  that  all 
was  going  on  well  for  their  deliverance,  but 
that  the  opinions  of  their  close  and  trusted 
advisers  were  alarmingly  divided ;  that  some 
guaranteed  the  most  complete  success,  while 
others  pointed  out  insurmountable  dangers. 
She  added  that  she  knew  the  order  of  march 
of  the  Princes  and  the  King  of  Prussia ;  that 
on  a  certain  day  they  would  be  at  Verdun, 
on  another  in  such  and  such  a  place ;  that 
Lille  would  be  besieged.  .  .  ." 

She  was,  however,  very  anxious  about  what 
might  happen  in  Paris  before  the  entry  of  the 
allies,  especially  as  a  plan  had  been  formed  for 
removing  the  King  from  the  capital. 

"The  Const.,  who  have  joined  Lafayette  and 
Luckner,"  she  writes  on  the  nth  July,  "want 
to  take  the  King  to  Compiegne  on  the  day 
after  the  Federation.  The  two  Generals  are 
coming  here  for  that  purpose.  The  Edng  is 
disposed  to  agree  to  the  plan ;  the  Queen 
opposes  it.  No  one  knows  as  yet  what  will 
be  the  issue  of  this  great  enterprise,  of  which 
I  do  not  at  all  approve.  Luckner  takes  the 
army  of  the  Khine,  Lafayette  that  of  Flanders, 
Biron  and  Dumouriez  the  army  of  the  centre." 

It  was  true  that  the  Queen  strongly  opposed 
the  removal  of  the  King,  first,  because  she 
did  not  wish  to  be  replaced  in  the  hands  of 
Lafayette,  to  whom  she  had  not  forgiven  any 
part  of  the  past ;  also,  and  above  all,  because 
Count  Fersen  urgently  begged  of  her  to  use 
every  efi"ort  to  remain  in  Paris. 


314  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  project  which  was  formed  with  the  object 
of  saving  the  royal  family  was  succeeded  by 
an  analogous  scheme,  but  the  latter  originated 
in  the  enmity  of  the  Jacobins,  who  wanted  to 
put  the  King  out  of  the  reach  of  the  foreign 
armies.  The  Queen  communicated  it  to  Fersen, 
employing  the  formula  that  was  to  confirm  the 
authenticity  of  any  statement  to  which  it  was 
opposed. 

"  The  rumour  runs,  and  I  forewarn  you 
that  I  do  not  believe  a  ivord  of  what  I  am 
going  to  tell  you,  that  the  Jacobins  are  planning 
more  than  ever  to  get  out  of  Paris  with  the 
King,  and  gain  the  southern  provinces.  .  .  . 

"All  in  whom  you  are  interested  are  well. 
Adieu,  my  dear  Rignon.  I  embrace  you  ten- 
derly." 

Time  passed,  and  hostilities  were  not  begun. 
Marie  Antoinette  imagined  that  a  strong  de- 
claration by  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  would  have 
a  great  effect  in  frightening  the  excited  patriots, 
and  would  make  up  for  the  lack  of  action  for 
a  time. 

"  The  manifesto  must  be  sent  at  once  .  .  . 
it  is  expected  with  extreme  impatience;  it  will 
necessarily  bring  over  many  to  the  King,  and 
will  place  him  in  safety." 

The  Queen  draws  a  vivid  picture  of  the 
danger  of  the  royal  family. 

"  The  life  of  the  King  has  been  threatened 
for  a  long  time  past,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
Queen.  The  arrival  of  nearly  600  men  from 
Marseilles,  and  a  number  of  other  deputies 
from  all   the   Jacobin   clubs,   greatly   increases 


THE  MARSEILLAIS  315 

our  anxieties,  which  are  unfortunately  too  well 
founded.  Precautions  of  every  kind  are  taken 
for  the  safety  of  their  Majesties,  but  assassins 
skulk  continually  about  the  chateau,  emissaries 
excite  the  people,  a  part  of  the  National  Guard 
is  disaffected,  and  other  parties  are  either  weak 
or  cowardly.  The  only  resistance  to  the  enter- 
prises of  the  ruffians  would  have  to  be  offered 
by  a  few  persons  resolved  to  make  a  rampart 
of  their  bodies  for  the  royal  family,  and  by  the 
regiment  of  the  Swiss  Guards.  The  affair  that 
took  place  on  the  30th,  between  180  picked 
grenadiers  of  the  National  Guard  and  some  Mar- 
seilles Federals,  after  a  dinner  at  the  Champs- 
Elys^es,  has  clearly  proved  the  cowardice  of  the 
National  Guard,  and  the  little  reliance  that  can 
be  placed  upon  that  force,  which  is  really  im- 
pressive only  by  its  bulk.  The  180  grenadiers 
ran  away.  .  .  . 

"  For  a  long  time  past  the  factious  party  have 
taken  no  pains  to  hide  their  intention  of  annihi- 
lating the  royal  family.  .  .  .  If  they  (the  foreign 
forces)  do  not  come,  nothing  hut  Providence  can 
save  the  King  and  his  family." 

At  last,  at  the  moment  when  she  was  writing 
these  almost  despairing  lines,  the  Queen  received 
the  famous  manifesto  which  she  so  ardently  de- 
sired. She  might  have  rejoiced  in  it,  if  facts 
had  realised  her  fancies,  and  if  the  fear  which 
she  imagined  would  be  struck  to  the  hearts  of 
the  patriots  on  reading  it  had  not  given  place 
to  fierce  anger.  Never  had  such  threats  been 
addressed  to  a  whole  people. 

"  Any  National  Guard  taken  when  carrying 


3i6  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

arms  shall  be  treated  as  a  rebel ;  all  inhabitants 
who  shall  dare  to  defend  themselves  shall  be 
put  to  death  and  their  houses  burned  ;  all  the 
members  of  the  National  Assembly,  of  the  de- 
partment, of  the  district,  of  the  municipality, 
and  of  the  National  Guard  of  Paris,  are  rendered 
responsible  for  all  events,  to  be  judged  by 
military  process,  without  hope  of  pardon  ;  it 
is  declared  that  if  the  least  outrage  he  done 
to  the  royal  family,  and  if  their  safety  he 
not  immediately  provided  for,  their  Imperial 
and  Royal  Majesties  loill  hand  Paris  over  to  a 
military  execution  and  to  total  overthrow." 

"  To  avoid  this  fate,  the  French  nation  must 
submit  on  the  spot  to  the  King,  its  legitimate 
sovereign." 

This  extravagant  manifesto,  published  in  the 
name  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  was  not  his  ;  we 
now  know  who  were  the  authors,  or  rather  who 
was  the  author.  A  draft  of  a  manifesto  had 
been  made  in  the  first  instance  by  M.  de  Limon, 
a  Frenchman  who  had  formerly  been  in  the 
service  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  and  had  gone 
abroad ;  this  draft,  which  was  firm  but  mode- 
rate, was  submitted  to  Count  Fersen.  It  w^as 
the  latter  who,  moved  by  the  piteous  cries  of 
distress  which  reached  him  from  Paris,  and 
agonised  by  his  utter  powerlessness  to  save 
her  whom  he  loved,  poured  out  his  wrath  in 
this  document,  and  by  his  influence  induced 
the  chief  of  the  allied  troops  to  adopt  threats 
which  he,  Fersen,  had  often  longed  to  fulminate. 
Such  an  exaggeration  was  excusable  in  him, 
but  stupid  and   ridiculous  on  the  part  of  the 


AN  EXTRAVAGANT  MANIFESTO  317 

General  who  had  to  accept  the  responsibility 
of  the  manifesto  before  all  Europe. 

The  effect  quickly  revealed  the  extent  of 
the  error  that  had  been  committed.  Shouts  of 
fury  were  the  answer  returned  from  all  parts 
to  these  intolerable  pretensions ;  the  people, 
threatened  by  common  foes,  rose  up  with  one 
common  purpose  of  resistance,  and  as  though 
a  secret  instinct  had  apprised  them  that  these 
insensate  declarations  had  found  their  inspira- 
tion in  the  palace  of  the  kings  of  France, 
they  rushed  forth  against  the  Tuileries.  The 
manifesto  was  intended  to  beat  them  down ;  it 
drove  them  mad  instead. 

The  manifesto  bore  date  the  28th  of  July; 
on  the  3rd  of  August  the  deposition  of  the  King 
was  demanded.  In  vain  did  poor  Louis  deny 
all  complicity  with  the  foreigner ;  his  word  was 
no  longer  believed.  The  people  w^anted  to  have 
done  with  royalty.  On  the  9th  of  August  the 
city  rose,  and  an  outbreak  was  organised  for 
the  morrow. 

Stupefaction  prevailed  in  the  chateau.  General 
Viosmenil's  measures  of  precaution  were  so 
ridiculous,  that  M.  de  Jarjayes  warned  Madame 
de  Campan  of  the  sure  and  certain  issue  of 
the  coming  conflict.  The  King  lost  his  head ; 
he  was  incapable  of  forming  a  firm  resolve, 
and  could  not  act.  Nevertheless,  being  urged 
by  the  Queen,  he  tried  to  arouse  the  zeal  of 
his  defenders  by  appearing  among  them  on 
the  morning  of  the  loth.  He  was  received 
with  acclamation  by  some  gentlemen  who  had 
remained  faithful,  and  by  the  Swiss   Guards; 


31 8  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

then  he  went  on  to  the  battalions  of  National 
Guards  massed  around  the  chateau. 

A  resolute  king,  on  horseback,  might  perhaps 
have  rallied  these  waverers ;  but  Louis  XVI., 
on  foot,  his  wig  awry,  his  face  puffed  and 
weary,  did  not  awaken  even  pity  in  their 
ranks.  They  let  him  pass,  silently  at  first, 
then  murmurs  were  heard  which  rose  to  shouts, 
base  insults  were  flung  at  him  by  patriot  lips ; 
he  was  hooted,  and  had  to  re-enter  the  chateau 
hurriedly,  pursued  by  abusive  cries,  amid  which 
"  Down  with  the  fab  hog,"  was  repeated  several 
times. 

It  was  all  over ;  the  monarchy  was  lost.  Its 
friends  had  quite  as  great  a  share  in  its  ruin  as 
its  enemies. 

While  the  King  and  Queen  of  France,  ac- 
companied by  the  Dauphin,  Madame  Eoyale, 
Madame  Elizabeth,  and  a  few  devoted  friends, 
including  the  faithful  Goguelat,  abandoned  the 
royal  palace  for  the  dangerous  hospitality  of 
the  reporters'  room,  accorded  by  the  National 
Assembly,  and  afterwards  for  the  captivity  of 
the  Temple,  Count  Fersen,  full  of  his  fixed 
idea,  searching  the  world  for  saviours  for  the 
Queen,  bethought  him  of  asking  the  King  of 
England  to  proclaim  that  "  he  would  avenge 
in  a  striking  manner  every  attempt  against 
the  royal  persons;"  and  on  this  same  loth  of 
August  he  notified  this  to  Marie  Antoinette. 

His  delusion  still  existed ;  his  journal  con- 
tains the  following  significant  note  : — 

"  lo^^,  Friday. — The  news  from  Paris  is  very 
encouraging." 


A  DEATH-BLOW  TO  HOPE  319 

In  three  days  news  from  Paris  arrived,  to 
falsify  his  forecast  utterly,  and  to  destroy  his 
last  hopes  at  a  blow. 

"  iph^  Monday. — Terrible  news  from  Paris. 
On  Thursday  morning  the  chateau  was  attacked ; 
the  King  and  Queen  escaped  to  the  Assembly ; 
at  one  o'clock  fighting  was  still  going  on  in  the 
courtyards  and  the  Carrousel.  Blood  was  shed 
profusely,  many  were  killed  and  hanged,  the 
chateau  was  forced  in  every  part,  eight  pieces 
of  cannon  were  turned  upon  it  and  fired.  .  .  . 
A  thick  smoke  led  to  the  belief  that  the  chateau 
had  been  set  on  fire.  .  .  .  What  horror  ! " 

"  i^th,  Wednesday. — News  from  Paris ;  the 
royal  family  are  at  the  H6tel  de  Noailles,  closely 
watched ;  not  allowed  to  see  any  one.  ..." 

"  17^/2-,  Friday. — News  from  Paris  ;  the  King 
and  his  family  are  confined  in  the  tower  of 
the  Temple ;  Mme.  de  Lamballe  and  Mme.  de 
Tourzel  are  shut  up  with  them.  ..." 

Events  followed  events  with  marvellous  rapi- 
dity. Every  post  brought  most  serious  news. 
One  day  it  was  the  announcement  that  Lafay- 
ette— the  hero  of  "the  Independence,"  the 
favourite  of  the  National  Guard  of  Paris,  the 
popular  general — Lafayette  had  left  his  army, 
had  left  France,  and  had  just  been  taken, 
with  his  friends  Latour-Maubourg,  Lameth, 
Bureau  de  Puzy,  &c.  Another  day,  the  news 
was  still  worse :  the  city  was  given  over  to 
blood  and  fire.  The  passions  of  the  populace 
were  let  loose,  and  the  mob  proceeded  to 
massacre  those  whom  they  believed  to  be  the 
enemies  of  the  people. 


320  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

At  first  tliere  were  only  rumours.  It  was 
said  that  "  the  people  judged,  and  execution 
was  done  on  the  spot."  Presently  the  details 
became  known,  and  the  alleged  atrocities  were 
confirmed.  Fersen  learned  with  horror  that 
the  gentle  Princesse  de  Lamballe  was  among 
the  victims,  that  her  corpse  had  been  carried 
under  the  windows  of  the  Temple,  that  the 
King  had  been  forced  to  look  upon  it,  and 
that  Manuel  had  said  to  him  (using  the  tutoie- 
ment) — 

"  Look  here !  There  may  be  a  counter- 
revolution, but  at  any  rate  you  shall  not  enjoy 
it ;  this  is  the  fate  that  awaits  you." 

The  terror  which  Fersen  had  hoped  to  see 
let  loose  upon  the  French  nation  was  now  the 
lot  of  its  enemies,  and  he  also  trembled.  "  I 
have  never  been  so  much  afraid,"  he  writes  on 
the  6th  of  September. 

He  had  good  reason  to  be  afraid.  Paris 
was  in  the  power  of  the  mob,  and,  through 
either  weakness  or  complicity,  the  Government 
carefully  abstained  from  interference  with  their 
acts. 

AVhat  an  answer  to  the  famous  manifesto  ? 
All  the  adversaries  of  the  Kevolution  were 
equally  surprised  and  dismayed  by  it.  The 
facts  went  beyond  their  most  gloomy  fore- 
bodings, and  M.  de  Mercy,  who  "  saw  black," 
used  the  language  of  a  madman  in  his  turn, 
actually  saying  to  Count  Fersen  that  "much 
severity  was  needed,"  and  that  "  there  was  no 
other  means  than  this :  Jire  must  he  set  to  the 
four  corners  of  Parish 


A  SPECTACLE  OF  DEVASTATION  321 

To  set  fire  to  the  four  corners  of  Paris, 
however,  it  was  necessary  to  reach  those  four 
corners ;  now,  the  Prussians  were  a  long  way 
off  them.  The  French  army,  placed  under  the 
command  of  General  Dumouriez,  an  adventurer 
of  genius,  did  not  seem  disposed  to  yield  the 
ground  so  easily.  The  affair  of  Valmy  (20th 
of  September)  had  done  more  than  arrest  the 
march  of  the  enemy. 

That  check,  although  slight  in  itself,  was 
accompanied  by  other  calamities  which  rendered 
its  results  disastrous.  The  Duke  of  Brunswick's 
troops,  being  badly  victualled,  fed  on  unripe  fruit, 
and  were  decimated  by  dysentery.  And  besides, 
the  weather  was  bad  and  the  cold  premature. 

Letters  sent  by  the  emigrants  gave  dis- 
heartening reports.  While  they  stated  that 
Dumouriez  was  in  an  unassailable  position,  they 
acknowledged  that  the  troops  were  in  want 
of  everything.  "  Houses  are  demolished  to 
warm  them  (the  troops) ;  it  has  been  necessary 
to  take  grain  out  of  the  barns,  and  this  is 
effected  in  so  slovenly  a  fashion  that  a  great 
part  has  been  lost  and  entire  villages  con- 
sumed, to  the  great  detriment  of  the  harvests. 
The  country  presents  a  spectacle  of  devasta- 
tion and  is  like  a  desert.  The  Vicomte 
de  Caraman  drawls  a  terrible  picture  of  the 
misery  of  the  inhabitants ;  he  relates  that  in 
a  burning  village  he  saw  an  old  man  and  his 
wife  sitting  before  their  house,  which  was  in 
flames,  and  contemplating  the  destruction  of  all 
they  possessed.  Their  dog  lay  on  the  ground 
close  to  them  howling  dismally. 


322  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEK 

"  Vauban's  letter  to  liis  wife  draws  a  terrible 
picture  of  the  plight  of  the  emigrants.  They 
are  in  bivouac  for  the  last  ten  days,  without 
tents,  without  means  of  conveyance,  afflicted 
with  dysentery,  without  medical  aid  or  means 
of  relief,  absolutely  without  victuals ;  he  had 
eaten  his  last  pound  of  bread,  and  knew  not 
where  to  find  another. 

"  These  two  letters  throw  doubt  on  the  success 
of  the  enterprise,  and  say,  *  God  only  knows 
what  the  end  will  6e.'" — (Fersen's  Journal, 
ist  October.) 

What  everybody  did  know  just  then  was 
that  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  was  beating:  a 
retreat,  to  the  great  displeasure  of  all  the  en- 
thusiasts. Baron  de  Breteuil,  who  was  generally 
more  reserved,  severely  condemned  him  : — 

"  This  astounding  conduct  reflects  great 
blame  on  the  Duhe  of  Brunswick;  he  is  a 
man  in  the  mud." 

During  this  time  the  success  of  the  French 
was  continuous.  Dumouriez  had  got  his  plan — 
the  conquering  of  Belgium — adopted,  and  the 
victory  of  Jemmapes  proved  that  he  was  in  the 
right  {6th  of  November). 

And  now  the  situation  was  becoming  very 
grave,  the  danger  was  drawing  nigh  to  Brussels. 
It  was  time  for  Count  Fersen  to  leave  that 
city.  With  Colonel  Crawford,  M.  de  Simolin, 
and  Mrs.  Sullivan,  he  started  for  Diisseldorf  at 
noon  on  the  9th  of  November. 

What  he  saw  on  that  journey  filled  him 
with  profound  sadness.  "  A  heartrending  spec- 
tacle," he  writes,  "  was  that  of  the  unfortunate 


THE  UNFOKTUNATE  EMIGRANTS  323 

emigrants ;  young  men  and  old  men  of  the 
Bourbon  corps  lagged  behind,  being  hardly 
able  to  drag  themselves  along  with  their 
muskets  and  knapsacks,  carrying  the  little 
that  they  had  managed  to  take  away.  There 
were  even  women  of  the  upper  class,  with  or 
without  their  waiting -women,  going  on  foot, 
this  one  with  a  child  on  her  back,  the  other 
with  a  small  bundle.  I  wish  I  could  have 
had  carriages  to  pick  up  all  these  poor  people ; 
the  sight  of  them  inspired  horror  and  pity." 

The  hopes  of  the  month  of  July  had  re- 
ceded into  the  far  distance.  France  and  the 
Eevolution  did  not  seem  disposed  to  lower  their 
crest  before  Europe  and  Royalty. 


CHAPTER  XL 

News  from  Paris — The  trial  of  the  King — The  21st  of  January 
— The  Will  of  Louis  XVI. — Attitude  of  the  Princes  and 
emigrants — Indifference  of  foreigners — Attempts  to  escape 
made  at  Paris — Toulan  and  Jarjayes — The  Stamp — Agree- 
ment arrived  at  between  Dumouriez  and  the  Prince  of 
Coburg — Hopes  of  Count  Fersen,  appointed  Ambassador  to 
King  Louis  XVII. — Note"  of  the  8th  of  April  1793 — The 
defection  of  Dumouriez — Interview  of  the  General  with 
Count  Fersen  at  Brussels — Inaction  of  M.  de  Mercy — 
Hostility  of  M.  de  Thugut — Drouet — The  Queen  trans- 
ferred to  the  Conciergerie — The  Chevalier  de  Rougeville 
• — Details  of  the  captivity  of  Marie  Antoinette — A  last 
effort  in  favour  of  the  Queen — Novere,  the  dancing-master, 
and  Ribbes,  the  banker— The  trial  of  the  Queen — Marie 
Antoinette  at  the  National  Window — Count  Fersen's  grief. 

It  is  regarded  as  an  indisputable  proof  of  the 
courage  of  a  general  that  he  has  slept  well 
the  night  before  a  battle.  It  is  a  pity  that 
no  one  has  ever  thought  of  ranking  the  fact 
of  having  eaten  largely  in  great  crises,  among 
the  proofs  of  intrepidity  of  soul,  for,  if  this 
were  so,  Louis  XVI.  would  have  left  quite  a 
different  mark  upon  the  memory  of  mankind. 
In  that  case,  we  should  quote  with  admiration, 
not  mere  curiosity,  the  bill  of  fare  of  his 
Majesty's  supper  on  a  certain  evening  in  Decem- 
ber, as  reported  by  Albertier,  the  commissary. 
"  Louis  ate  six  cutlets,  a  large  piece  of  fowl, 
some  eggs,  drank  two  glasses  of  white  wine,  and 
one  of  Alicante,  and  then  he  went  to  bed." 

And  yet  that  evening  was  an  important  one 
334 


THE  KING'S  APPETITE  325 

in  his  existence :  tlie  King  had  just  returned 
from  the  Convention,  where  his  counsel,  M.  de 
Seze,  had  pleaded  for  him  courageously  and  in 
vain. 

The  eagerness  with  which  Louis  satisfied  the 
demands  of  his  formidable  appetite  was  already 
notorious.  In  the  stenographer's  gallery,  dur- 
ing the  massacre  of  his  Swiss  Guards  and 
the  loyal  gentlemen  who  had  remained  with  him 
at  the  Tuileries,  he  had  greedily  torn  a  roast 
fowl  to  pieces  with  his  fingers,  and  devoured 
it,  under  the  indignant  eyes  of  the  Queen,  and 
amid  the  scornful  glances  of  the  deputies. 

Why  should  he  have  restrained  himself? 
Louis  XI Vc  had  left  him  traditions  of  gluttony 
which  excused  him.  And  besides,  wherefore 
should  he  trouble  himself?  Louis  did  not 
believe  in  his  danger,  especially  when  he  was 
a  prisoner  in  the  Temple. 

In  the  Tuileries,  on  the  Champ  de  Mars, 
whither  he  had  been  obliged  to  go  for  the 
F6te  of  the  Federation,  he  might  have  to  dread 
that  an  enthusiastic  fanatic,  passing  from  revolu- 
tionary theory  to  practice,  might  aim  a  dagger- 
thrust  or  a  bullet  at  him ;  but  now,  in  shelter 
behind  the  walls  of  the  Temple,  he  might 
indeed  be  exposed  to  insult  and  to  oppressive 
measures,  but  what  appearance  was  there  of 
the  Convention's  going  any  farther?  They 
would  never  dare.  Clery  puts  this  false  secu- 
rity strongly.  "  I  was  far  from  fearing  for  the 
King's  life,"  he  says.  "  The  Queen  was  equally 
inapprehensive,  and  her  husband  governed  him- 
self by  her  only." 
16 


326  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

A  similar  delusion  prevailed  abroad.  Count 
Fersen  wrote  to  the  Duke  of  Sudermania  about 
the  end  of  November  : — 

"  We  have  no  fresh  news  from  Paris.  We 
only  know  that  the  trial  of  the  King  is 
imminent.  The  Abbe  Fauchet  thinks  his 
Majesty  sufficiently  punished  by  all  that  has 
befallen  him,  and  hopes  they  will  let  him 
go ;  others  want  to  have  him  tried  and 
executed,  and  the  penalty  of  death  abolished 
afterwards.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  intention  is  to  try  the  King,  to  condemn 
him,  then  to  have  him  pardoned  by  the  nation, 
and  a  sum  oj  money  assigned  for  his  support 
and  that  of  his  family ;  but  it  is  not  known 
whether  he  is  to  be  kept  in  prison  or  left  at 
liberty  to  go  where  he  may  please." 

The  result  did  not  justify  this  optimistic 
forecast.  The  cause  of  Louis  XVI.  was  lost 
by  the  discovery  of  papers  in  "  the  iron  press," 
after  its  existence  had  been  uselessly  denied  by 
him.  He  was  unanimously  found^  guilty  by  the 
voters,  and  condemned  to  death  by  the  majority 
of  the  Assembly. 

Count  Fersen  received  the  news  of  the 
execution  from  the  Archbishop  of  Toulouse, 
on  the  27th  of  January,  with  such  details  as 
the  latter  had  been  able  to  procure. 

"On  the  2ist,  at  half-past  nine  in  the 
morning,  the  King  was  brought  out  of  the 
Temple,  escorted  by  400  cavalry  and  1200 
infantry.  He  was  taken,  in  the  midst  of  pro- 
found silence,  by  the  boulevards  of  the  Temple, 
St.    Martin,  and    St.   Honord,  to   the   scaffold, 


THE  KING'S  LAST  WOEDS  327 

which  was  erected  on  the  place  formerly  called 
Place  Louis  XV.,  now  called  Place  de  la 
Pe volution,  between  the  spot  where  the  statue 
stood  and  the  entrance  of  the  Champs - 
Elys^es. 

"At  the  back  of  the  carriage,  and  by  the 
King's  side,  was  his  confessor,  an  Irish  priest ; 
on  the  front  seat  were  two  officers  of  the 
gendarmerie. 

"  Having  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  scaffold, 
he  submitted  to  the  binding  of  his  hands  with 
the  utmost  composure,  and  mounted  the  steps 
bravely. 

"  He  wished  to  speak  to  the  people,  but  the 
roll  of  the  drums  overpowered  his  voice.  Never- 
theless, those  who  were  close  to  the  scaffold 
heard  these  words,  uttered  in  a  firm  tone — 
'  /  pardon  my  enemies,  and  I  desire  that  my 
death  may  he  the  salvation  of  France .^ 

"  He  breathed  his  last  sigh  at  a  quarter  to 
eleven  o'clock  ;  his  severed  head  was  held  up 
to  the  people,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  air 
w^as  rent  with  cries  of  '  Long  live  the  Nation  ! 
Long  live  the  French  Pepublic  ! ' 

*'  Several  volunteers  steeped  their  pike-heads  in 
his  blood,  and  others  their  handkerchiefs.  His 
head  and  body  were  carried  to  the  Madeleine 
(cemetery)  and  buried." 

These  sad  details  of  the  King's  death  affected 
Count  Fersen  profoundly,  "  renewing  all  his 
grief,  and  presenting  the  most  heartrending 
pictures  to  his  imagination." 

The  reading  of  the  Will  drawn  up  by  the 
King  "on  Christmas  Day,  1792,"  disturbed  him 


328  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

to  the  extent  of  making  him  write  in  his  journal : 
"  Will  of  Louis  XVL— superb." 

Superb  in  resignation,  perhaps  ;  and  yet,  could 
it  be  admitted  that  a  prince,  placed  at  the  head 
of  twenty-five  millions  of  men,  had  nothing 
better  to  do  than  to  contemplate  the  evils  by 
which  himself  and  his  subjects  were  assailed, 
then  patiently  to  bear  his  own,  and  the  sight  of 
theirs  ?  The  merit  of  the  King  in  refusing  to 
shed  blood  for  the  defence  of  the  rights  which 
he  held  by  tradition  and  from  his  ancestors,  is 
greatly  diminished  by  the  fact  that  he  refrained 
equally  from  defending  the  rights  of  the  nobility 
and  the  clergy,  and  even  those  of  the  simple 
honest  folk  whose  sole  desire  was  to  live  peace- 
fully under  a  protecting  Government.  As  a 
fact,  never  was  there  so  much  blood  shed,  and 
the  weakness  and  incapacity  of  Louis,  ill-con- 
cealed under  merit  of  a  certain  kind,  caused 
greatej  misfortunes,  brought  about  more  nume- 
rous catastrophes,  and  gave  greater  opportunity 
for  crime  than  would  have  resulted  from  an 
armed  resistance. 

As  for  the  Will  itself,  it  must  have  grieved 
the  true  friends  of  legitimate  monarchy.  Did 
it  not  contain  the  following  sentences : — "  I 
desire  my  son,  if  he  should  have  the  misfortune 
to  become  king,  to  consider  that  he  owes  himself 
altogether  to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-citizens 
.  .  .  that  he  can  make  the  people  happy  only  by 
reigning  according  to  the  laws  ;  but  at  the  same 
time  that  a  King  cannot  ensure  respect  for  those 
laws,  and  do  the  good  that  he  has  at  heart,  except 
in  so  far  as  he  has  the  necessary  authority,  and 


YJE  VICTIS  !  329 

tliat  otherwise,  being  restricted  in  his  opera- 
tions and  not  inspiring  respect,  he  is  more 
harmful  than  useful." 

The  subjects  of  former  times,  now  called  the 
"  fellow-citizens"  of  his  son,  who  was  no  longer 
king  by  birth,  but  only  liable  to  "  the  misfor- 
tune "  of  becoming  king,  was  not  this  the  theory 
of  the  Eevolution  recognised  by  its  victim  ? 

Louis  XVI.  was  not  mourned  by  his  own. 
The  Comte  de  Provence,  whose  ambition  was 
gratified  by  the  abridgment  of  the  space  between 
himself  and  the  throne,  hastened  to  display  the 
outward  sign  of  his  power  by  proclaiming  him- 
self Regent  until  the  majority  of  the  little  Louis 
XVIL  The  consequences  of  his  conduct  speedily 
ensued. 

"  There  are  already  parties  among  the  French," 
writes  Fersen,  alluding  to  the  French  emigrants. 
'*  One  set  approves  of  the  regency  of  Monsieur, 
the  other  bears  in  mind  the  rights  of  the  Queen, 
and  it  is  much  to  be  feared  that  their  difference 
of  opinion  wdll  have  evil  results  one  day. 
The  Princes  already  are  going  to  make  a 
thousand  blunders.  It  is  said  they  are  about 
to  nominate  a  Chancellor,  but  Barentin  was 
appointed  on  the  death  of  Maupeou  by  the  late 
King,  and  he  will  object." 

The  emigrants  were  but  lightly  impressed. 
"  The  death  of  the  King  has  not  produced 
any  great  effect  upon  them ;  they  console 
themselves  with  the  regency  of  Monsieur. 
Some  of  them  even  wxnt  to  the  play  and 
the  concert." 

Count   Fersen    was   indignant   at    the    siojht 


330  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

of  such  indifference,  such  apathy,  so  little  care, 
in  a  word,  for  the  safety  of  the  unhappy 
Queen,  who  was  still  a  captive,  and  on  whom 
the  popular  vengeance  might  wreak  itself  in 
her  prison  by  heaping  outrage  and  suffering  of 
every  kind  upon,  and  even — who  could  tell  ? — 
by  killing  her  also,  as  her  husband  had  been 
killed. 

They  did  not  believe,  however,  that  such  a 
fate  could  be  in  store  for  a  woman.  Louis  XVI. 
had  paid  the  debt  of  royalty ;  the  life  of  Marie 
Antoinette  would  be  respected.  Their  confi- 
dence excused  the  inaction  of  the  oldest  friends 
of  the  Queen,  but  Count  Fersen  could  not  be 
content  with  such  barren  attachment ;  he  was 
not  satisfied  merely  to  condole  with  the  royal 
widow. 

But  what  was  he  to  do  ?  how  was  he  to  act  ? 
There  was  the  difficulty,  and  his  perplexity 
was  great.  Incoherent,  and  sometimes  contra- 
dictory ideas  were  seething  in  his  troubled 
brain.  His  letters  reflect  his  indecision  and 
embarrassment.  He  writes  to  M.  de  Mercy, 
owning  that  "the  more  he  considers  all  that 
has  taken  place,  the  more  he  is  confirmed  in 
his  opinion  that  they  can  serve  the  Queen  only 
by  doing  nothing  for  her."  He  adds,  "It  is 
dreadful  to  have  to  limit  one's  zeal  to  inaction." 

Then  he  passes  on  to  another  idea :  "A 
simple  step  for  the  Emperor  to  take,  and  en- 
tirely in  conformity  with  his  dignity,  would 
be  to  claim  the  Queen."  Yes,  but  if  this  step 
should  be  injurious  to  her?  "Might  it  not 
bring  about  a  discussion  upon  the  trial  of  the 


FERSEN'S  PLANS  331 

Queen,  which  had  been  decreed  at  the  same 
time  as  the  King's,  but  had  not  yet  been 
mooted,  and  which  one  party  probably  desired 
to  have  forgotten  ?  Might  it  not  hasten  the 
condemnation  of  the  Queen  ?  ...  If  the  Em- 
peror were  to  manifest  interest  in  the  cause  of 
his  aunt,  would  not  this  furnish  the  factions 
with  a  cry  of  which  they  would  avail  them- 
selves, and  be  the  means  of  working  her  destruc- 
tion, by  rekindling  enmity  against  the  Austrians, 
and  representing  the  Queen  as  a  foreigner  and 
the  accomplice  of  the  King  in  the  crimes  imputed 
to  himf" 

No,  there  was  danger  in  this  plan ;  he  must 
think  of  another.  "A  more  efficacious  means 
of  saving  the  Queen  would  be,  in  my  opinion, 
to  employ  intelligent  agents  from  England, 
who  should  gain  over  the  leaders  of  the  Orleans 
party,  such  as  Laclos,  Santerre,  Dumouriez,  by 
money  and  promises.  The  Due  d'Orleans  him- 
self must  not  be  approached ;  his  dulness  and 
incapacity  are  on  a  par  with  his  rascality  and 
poltroonery." 

He  might  indeed  be  believed  when  he 
affirmed,  in  conclusion,  that  "  his  zeal  and 
attachment  for  the  Queen  had  solely  dictated 
these  reflections."  Unhappily  for  him  and  for 
Marie  Antoinette,  there  was  nothing  practically 
possible  in  them ;  all  his  efi'orts  were  neutral- 
ised by  the.  reluctance  of  the  foreign  sovereigns 
to  see  a  monarchical  government  re-established 
in  France.  The  policy  that  schemes  to  enfeeble 
France  by  condemning  her  to  be  republican  is 
not  new. 


332  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Princes  were  relied  on  to  save  the  Queen : 
men  sufficed. 

While  there  was  a  stir  and  agitation  more 
or  less  sincere  on  all  sides,  while  troops  were 
being  assembled  and  formidable  preparations 
were  being  made,  two  men,  almost  unknown, 
without  resources,  without  power,  coolly  made 
up  their  minds  to  do  what  so  many  others 
merely  dreamed  of  vainly  —  to  save  the  royal 
family.  Toulan,  the  municipal,  and  the  Cheva- 
lier de  Jarjayes  conceived  that  heroic  project, 
and  it  was  not  their  fault  that  it  failed  on  the 
very  brink  of  success. 

I  have  related  elsewhere  in  detail  the  story 
of  this  marvellous  attempt,  which  was  inspired 
by  pity  and  sincere  attachment.^  That  strange 
personage,  Toulan,  deserves  to  be  rescued  from 
oblivion,  he  was  in  his  dry  manner  so  bold 
a  conspirator,  always  good-humoured,  a  right 
generous  Gascon,  who,  contrary  to  the  ways  of 
his  compatriots,  was  much  more  ready  with 
deeds  than  with  words. 

When  the  plan  laid  by  him,  and  adopted  by  M. 
de  Jarjayes,  was  on  the  point  of  being  carried  out, 
the  vacillation  of  a  man  whom  they  had  been 
forced  to  take  into  their  confidence  ruined  every- 
thing ;  flight  was  rendered  impossible,  except  for 
Marie  Antoinette  only,  and  the  Queen  nobly 
refused  to  separate  herself  from  her  children. 

She  then  wrote  a  note  which  Toulan  passed 
on  to  Jarjayes.  A  copy  of  it  exists  among 
Fersen's  papers.     It  is  truly  touching  : — 

1    See  Vn  Complot  sous  la  Terreur  {Marie  Antoinette,  Toulan, 
Jarjayes). 


THE  "STAMP"  333 

"  Adieu  !  I  think,  if  you  have  decided  upon 
going  away,  it  is  best  that  it  should  be  done 
promptly. 

"  How  happy  I  should  be  if  we  might  soon 
meet  again  .  .  .  Never  can  I  sufficiently  acknow- 
ledge all  that  you  have  done  for  me. 

"  Adieu !    That  word  is  cruel ! " 

If  the  word  was  cruel,  the  thing  was  still 
more  so.  Notwithstanding  her  strength  and  her 
resolution,  Marie  Antoinette  suffered  from  the 
anguish  which  is  caused  by  every  parting, 
every  breaking  of  relations  with  a  faithful  and 
devoted  friend.  And  yet  there  was  an  allevia- 
tion of  the  bitterness  of  the  separation  :  in 
leaving  France,  M.  de  Jarjayes  would  be  able 
to  convey  the  captive's  tender  remembrance  to 
Count  Fersen. 

This  episode  in  the  life  of  Marie  Antoinette 
was  entirely  unknown  until  a  fortunate  circum- 
stance placed  me  in  possession  of  the  original 
of  another  note  addressed  to  the  Chevalier 
de  Jarjayes  in  that  terrible  month  of  Feb- 
ruary I  793,  which  had  brought  her  consolation 
and  hope,  too  quickly  followed  by  disappoint- 
ment. 

The  note  contains  a  sentence  which  we  know, 
from  our  information  concerning  Count  Fersen, 
can  only  bear  reference  to  him.  Here  it  is  in 
its  eloquent  simplicity  :  "  The  Stamp  tvhich  I 
send  with  this  is  quite  another  thing.  I  desire 
that  you  remit  it  to  the  person  ivho  came  from 
Brussels  to  see  me  last  winter,  as  you  knoiv,  and 
that  you  say  to  him  at  the  same  time  that  the 
motto  has  never  been  more  true." 


334  A  FRIEKD  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

"  The  person  who  came  from  Brussels  last 
winter,"  that  is  to  say  in  1792,  was  Count 
Fersen.  We  know  all  about  that  expedition  ;  no 
doubt  on  the  point  is  possible.  Now,  what  was 
that  "Stamp"?  Only  the  inheritors  of  Count 
Fersen's  papers  can  now  answer  that  question,  if, 
indeed,  the  Count  himself  did  not  destroy  the 
last  token  which  had  come  to  him  from  her 
who  seems  to  have  been  his  only  love.  The 
latter  hypothesis  is  not  likely  to  be  correct,  con- 
sidering the  care  with  which  he  had  translated, 
classed,  and  preserved  the  Queen's  letters ; 
unless,  indeed,  he  may  have  thought  that  such 
a  token,  brought  to  light  one  day,  would  be 
too  significant,  and  hoped  by  destroying  "the 
Stamp"  to  conceal  the  secret  of  two  hearts 
for  ever. 

He  well  deserved  that  Marie  Antoinette 
should  think  of  him,  for  he  never  for  an  in- 
stant ceased  to  think  of  her. 

Even  at  that  very  moment  hope  entered  into 
his  soul.  Political  news  reached  him  by  which 
he  learned  that  treason  was  coming  to  the  aid 
of  the  cause  he  was  defending.  The  general 
to  whom  the  French  Eepublic  had  intrusted 
the  command  of  its  forces,  the  victor  of  Valmy 
and  Jemmapes,  was  meditating  dark  designs. 
Bolder  than  Bouille,  less  of  a  patriot  than 
Lafayette,  he  did  not  intend  to  deprive  France 
of  his  own  sword  only ;  with  his  troops  he 
meant  to  turn  against  the  Convention,  and, 
aided  by  his  late  adversaries,  to  march  upon 
Paris,  there  to  re-establish  a  King. 

Such   was    the    agreement    formed    between 


EEASONABLE  CONFIDEXCE 


335 


Dumouriez  and  the  Prince  of  Coburg.  Count 
Fersen  did  not  doubt  for  a  moment  that  the 
French  general  who  came  forward  in  such 
fashion  was  certain  that  his  troops  w^ould  fol- 
low him.  He  was  overjoyed,  and  immediately 
despatched  "  an  express  to  carry  the  news  to 
Sweden." 

His  imagination  set  to  w^ork  actively ;  so 
readily  do  we  believe  what  we  ardently  de- 
sire !  He  "no  longer  has  any  fear  for  the 
Queen."  Nor  was  this  all ;  he  pictures  to 
himself  the  remaining  members  of  the  royal 
family  set  free,  and  takes  the  precaution  of 
inquiring  of  Baron  Taube  "  whether  he  ought 
still  to  abide  by  the  instructions  which  he  has, 
in  the  event  of  the  King's  being  at  liberty 
(he  is  speaking  of  Louis  XVH.),  or  wait  for 
others,"  and  in  the  latter  case,  he  begs  that 
these  "  may  he  sent  to  him  as  early  as  possible, 
for  this  may  go  very  fast." 

How  should  Fersen  have  had  any  doubts  ? 
Marshal  de  Broglie  announced  that  he  had 
received  information  that  "  Dumouriez  was 
marching  alone  on  Paris  with  a  force  of  50,000 
men,  all  wearing  the  white  cockade,  and  that 
the  Prince  of  Coburg  remained  at  the  frontier, 
quite  ready  to  support  him,  if  necessary." 

Fersen's  assurance  was  sufficient  for  the  Duke 
of  Sudermania.  The  Regent  of  Sweden  replied 
to  him  by  a  letter  overflowing  with  enthusiasm 
and  confidence : — 

"  It  has  come,  then,"  he  wrote,  "  that  much- 
desired  moment  when  the  delirium  of  France 
and   her  tragic   and   sanguinary   triumphs   are 


336  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

about  to  cease ;  when  at  last  she  will  be  placed 
in  subjection  to  her  lawful  masters,  and  the 
unfortunate  family  of  Bourbon,  our  old  and 
true  friend,  will  enter  into  its  ancient  rights  ; 
when  we  shall  see  Louis  XVII.  re-established 
upon  his  father's  throne,  and  guided  by  a 
tender  and  estimable  mother,  receiving  the 
homage  of  a  guilty  but  misled  people,  and 
at  the  same  time  punishing  the  enemies  of 
his  father  with  a  terrible  hand,  restoring  the 
tranquillity  of  Europe  by  avenging  outraged 
royalty,  by  crushing  that  impious  sect  whose 
execrable  principles  threatened  to  infect  the 
world  with  universal  barbarism.  .  .  . 

"  You  are  a  Swede,  you  love  your  country ; 
I  am  your  friend,  and  I  have  rights  over  you  ; 
I  cannot  better  intrust  the  interests  of  my 
country  than  to  your  hands,  and  /  constitute 
you  ambassador  from  the  King  to  Louis  XVII. 
You  will  be  a  better  judge  than  I  of  the  time 
and  the  propitious  moment  for  proceeding  to 
Paris,  to  your  destination." 

And  Count  Fersen,  taking  his  role  quite 
seriously,  prepared  a  "  note "  for  the  Queen 
of  France,  in  which  he  repeated  the  hopes  that 
he  had  built  upon  the  treachery  of  Dumouriez, 
but  also  gave  his  opinion  of  that  personage  with 
the  severity  of  a  gentleman  of  ancient  race 
pronouncing  upon  an  adventurer  of  plebeian 
birth,  thus  revealing  the  aristocratic  article 
of  faith  that  gratitude  is  due  between  equals 

"  The  position  in  which  you  are  about  to 
find    yourself  is  going   to   be  very  embarrass- 


FERSEN'S  «E"OTE"  337 

ing ;  you  will  have  incurred  great  obligations 
to  a  knave,  who,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  has  only 
yielded  to  necessity,  and  did  not  want  to 
behave  well  until  he  saw  the  impossibility  of 
resisting  any  longer.  This  is  the  whole  of  his 
merit  as  regards  you ;  but  the  man  is  useful ; 
he  must  be  used,  and  the  past  forgotten ; 
you  must  even  appear  to  believe  what  he  will 
say  of  his  good  intentions ;  you  must  even  deal 
frankly  with  him  respecting  the  things  that 
you  may  desire,  and  for  the  re-establishment 
of  the  monarchy  in  its  entirety  as  you  would 
have  it,  and  as  circumstances  permit.  With 
regard  to  Dumouriez  you  have  nothing  to  fear. 
You  must  try  not  to  pledge  yourself  too  deeply 
to  him,  and  as  far  as  possible  to  keep  off  all  the 
other  schemers  whom  he  will  want  to  place 
and  recommend.  .  .  .  He  is  a  vain  and  covetous 
man." 

It  was  on  the  8th  of  April  1793  that  Count 
Fersen  wrote  this  note.  When  we  think  of 
what  was  going  on  in  Paris,  we  are  amazed 
at  the  delusion  to  which  it  gives  expression. 
That  delusion  was  not  to  last  long,  and  even 
at  the  very  moment  events  were  exposing  its 
vanity.  France  was  not  displaying  a  disposi- 
tion to  receive  "  her  lawful  masters  "  again,  and 
her  army  had  no  desire  to  resume  the  white 
cockade. 

The  "note"  had  hardly  been  written  before 
the  Bishop  of  Pamiers,  who  was  mixed  up  in 
these  schemes,  came  to  Fersen,  and  in  a  sentence 
announced  the  overthrow  of  all  his  hopes. 
The  "  knave  "  had  indeed  endeavoured  to  fulfil 


338  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

his  agreement  with  the  Prince  of  Coburg,  but 
his  soldiers  had  refused  to  obey  him.  He  had 
fled  before  their  threats  —  they  fired  their 
muskets  after  him — and  reached  the  frontier 
with  only  a  few  officers  of  his  staff".  He  had 
time,  however,  to  give  up  to  the  Prince  of 
Coburg  the  four  commissaries  who  had  been 
sent  by  the  Convention  to  watch  him ;  this 
was  the  sole  advantage  his  treachery  had  ob- 
tained. 

This  news  affected  the  emigrants,  who  so 
little  expected  it,  very  painfully.  "The  con- 
sternation among  the  French,"  wrote  Count 
Fersen  in  his  journal,  "was  as  great  as  their 
joy  had  been  ;  they  believed  all  to  be  lost." 
His  own  "  fears  for  the  Queen  were  born  again  ; " 
yet  he  was  not  entirely  disheartened ;  he  cher- 
ished the  notion  that  the  French  army,  being 
deprived  of  its  chief,  was  in  a  state  of  dis- 
organisation, and  he  was  still  determined  to 
hope  on. 

In  the  meantime.  General  Dumouriez  had 
arrived  at  Aix  -  la  -  Chapelle.  Count  Fersen 
wished  to  see  the  man  who  had  missed  the 
playing  of  so  great  a  part,  and  who  could 
give  him  information,  and  the  details  of  the 
position.  On  the  17th  of  April,  he  pro- 
ceeded, with  his  friend  Simolin,  to  the  mili- 
tary station,  and  there  the  General  made  his 
appearance  at  half-past  two  in  the  afternoon. 
Fersen  describes  their  interview  as  follows  : — 

"  We  made  our  way  through  a  crowd,  and 
found  him  in  a  lower  room.  The  windows  were 
besieged  by  people.     Three  aides-de-camp  were 


THE  "KNAVE'S"  STORY  339 

with  him.  He  recognised  Simolin  ;  I  intro- 
duced myself,  and  he  paid  me  a  compliment, 
saying  that  he  ought  to  have  known  me  by 
my  handsome  face. 

"  I  said  that  I  was  very  glad  to  see  him 
here;  he  replied  that  he  had  intended  to 
come  for  a  long  time.  He  then  told  us 
that  .  .  .  fear  was  abroad  in  Paris.  .  .  . 

"  I  said  :  '  Explain  to  me.  Monsieur,  what  has 
happened  with  regard  to  the  Due  d' Orleans.' 

" '  I  cannot  give  you  an  explanation,  M. 
le  Comte,  for  I  have  never  had  any  rela- 
tions with  the  Due  d'Orleans,  whom  I  have 
always  despised  and  regarded  as  a  scoundrel. 
I  know,  however,  that  the  contrary  has  been 
stated ;  but  as  this  report  is  the  only  stain 
with  which  my  character  can  be  blackened, 
I  am  about  to  issue  a  proclamation  which 
will  prove  that  I  have  never  had  any  dealings 
with  him.' 

"  I  asked  him  for  particulars  of  the  circum- 
stances of  his  flight.  He  gave  them  just  as 
they  are  narrated  in  his  proclamation,  and 
added  that  Baptiste,  his  aide-de-camp,  who 
was  present,  had  had  his  horse  killed  under 
him. 

"  He  highly  praised  the  Due  de  Chartres,^ 
who  did  not  resemble  his  father,  he  said,  in 
anything. 

"  He   assured   me   that    Biron    and   Custine 

were    behaving   well,   and    said    that    he   was 

going   to   the   neighbourhood    of    Mayence,   in 

order    to     consult    with     him    (Custine),    and 

*  Louis  PWlippe. 


340  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

would  probably  go  to  Vienna ;  and  that  he  had 
a  plan  in  his  head.  He  complained  of  the 
slowness  of  the  Austrians,  said  that  with 
greater  activity  in  dealing  with  these  people 
they  would  be  put  down ;  that  there  was 
no  longer  an  army,  that  all  the  troops  of 
the  line  would  pass  over  as  soon  as  they 
could.  .  .  . 

"  He  complained  greatly  of  Dampierre,  who 
had  betrayed  him,  and  in  whom  he  had 
placed  confidence,  because,  as  he  said,  he 
was  a  man  of  quality,  and  ought  to  belong 
to  the  right  side ;  that  his  plan  was  to  seize 
on  Lille,  Conde,  Valenciennes,  and  Meubeuge, 
makinsj  hostages  of  the  commissaries  who 
were  there ;  that  this  plan  had  failed  through 
the  imbecility  of  those  whom  he  had  in- 
trusted with  the  execution  of  it ;  that  it  had 
already  been  proposed  to  exchange  the  four 
commissaries  for  the  royal  family;  that  in 
his  opinion,  everything  ought  to  have  been 
granted  in  order  to  secure  possession  of  the 
royal  family,  and  no  faith  kept  afterwards  with 
these  knaves." 

The  epithet  was  ironically  happy  ;  but  if 
Dumouriez  thought  to  ingratiate  himself  with 
his  present  audience  by  such  language,  his 
mistake  was  great,  and  proved  his  ignorance 
of  the  law  of  human  nature  which  ordains 
that  while  men  freely  avail  themselves  of 
treachery,  they  always  despise  the  traitor,  and 
that  the  contempt  which  he  inspires  shall  be 
the  greater  in  proportion  to  the  non-success  of 
his  treason. 


FEESEJf  ON  FRENCHMEN  341 

In  a  few  lines,  Count  Fersen  tries  and  con- 
demns Dumouriez,  but  while  treating  him  fairly, 
he  contrives  to  be  unjust  to  the  French. 

"  In  everything,"  he  writes,  "  I  consider 
him  a  true  Frenchman ;  vain,  confident,  and 
feather-headed ;  clever,  hut  possessing  no  judg- 
ment. The  whole  of  his  plan  failed  through 
excess  of  confidence  in  his  troops  and  in  his 
own  influence  over  the  army.  He  had  not 
sufiiciently  organised  the  aflair. 

"  He  was  very  uneasy,  and  upset  by  every 
sound  from  the  crowd  who  surrounded  the 
door  and  windows ;  he  seemed  to  be  afraid 
of  some  mishap.  His  lackey  came  to  com- 
plain of  having  been  insulted  by  an  '  emigre. ' 
He  sent  him  away,  and  said  to  us — 

"  '  If  these  gentlemen  push  matters  too  far, 
I  ivill  shotv  them  that  I  can  still  make  myself 
respected.' 

"  On  getting  into  his  carriage,  he  received 
some  verbal  insults." 

Dumouriez  did  not  remain  long  at  Brussels ; 
he  went  to  England  in  search  of  a  warmer 
welcome,  and  a  few  hours  after  his  arrival  a 
crowd  assembled  under  his  windows  shouting, 
"  To  the  lamp-post  with  him  ! "  This  manifesta- 
tion probably  reminded  him  of  his  own  country, 
where  the  same  cry  was  in  high  favour.  He  had 
to  fly,  and  now  we  may  dismiss  this  person- 
age, merely  mentioning  that  he  was  reduced 
to  wandering  about  from  kingdom  to  kingdom, 
always  being  turned  out,  and  living  like  a  beggar 
on  the  meagre  alms  which  his  importunity  ex- 
tracted from  various  persons  here  and  there. 


342  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  French  Kevolution,  which  ought  to  have 
been  crushed  out  a  hundred  times  over  by  the 
armies  which  Europe  could  put  in  the  field, 
so  superior  in  number  and  in  discipline 
were  these,  had  on  its  side  that  marvellous 
occult  power  which  seems  to  watch  over 
the  destinies  of  nations — in  reality  an  un- 
known force,  sometimes  called  chance,  a  force 
which,  in  the  present  instance,  it  would  be 
rash  and  irreverent  to  describe  as  Provi- 
dence. 

Nothing  that  was  devised  against  the  Eevo- 
lution  succeeded,  and  it  marched  on  without 
a  stumble,  notwithstanding  that  its  feet  were 
bathed  in  blood.  The  reason  was  that  its 
real  allies  were  those  who  professed  to  be  its 
enemies.  Those  who  are  faithful  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  royalty  cannot  possibly  have  to  make 
a  more  painful  admission  than  this. 

Setting  aside  Monsieur  and  the  Comte  d' Artois 
— those  French  princes  of  whom  even  Fersen 
said,  "Their  folly  led  them  always  to  reject 
useful  people" — we  must  acknowledge  that 
the  oldest  friends  of  the  royal  family,  and 
of  the  Queen  herself,  evinced  very  little  soli- 
citude for  the  interests  of  the  prisoners  of  the 
Temple. 

The  conduct  of  M.  de  Mercy  affords  more 
than  one  example  of  this  indifference,  to  use 
a  mild  expression. 

He  had  been  sent  as  Ambassador  to  France, 
honoured  with  the  twofold  confidence  of  Maria 
Theresa  as  Empress  and  as  mother,  and  for 
years  he  had  corresponded  with  his  sovereign, 


M.  DE  MERCY  343 

making  a  show  of  zeal  and  devotion  which 
were  believed  to  be  sincere.  No  sooner  was 
the  muttering  of  the  storm  heard,  no  sooner 
did  the  times  change,  than  he  left  France  and 
retired  to  Brussels.  Did  he,  from  the  safe 
shelter  of  that  city,  ever  use  his  influence  to 
secure  allies  against  the  persecution  of  the 
Queen  ?  Did  he  imitate  the  conduct  of  Count 
Fersen,  who  had  forgotten  nothing,  and  strove 
with  desperation  to  save  Marie  Antoinette  ? 
We  should  like  to  be  able  to  believe  that  he 
did,  but  the  documents  are  there,  and  they 
render  any  doubt  of  the  pitiful  part  which 
he  acted  impossible.  We  have  only  to  consult 
Count  Fersen's  journal.  There  we  read,  at  the 
date  of  the  20th  of  April  1793 — "There  have 
been  proposals  to  exchange  the  royal  family  for 
the  four  commissaries  taken  by  Dumouriez,  but 
beyond  this  a  demand  is  made  for  an  unlimited 
suspension  of  hostilities  and  the  recognition 
of  the  Kepublic.  The  Prince  of  Coburg  has 
called  for  a  full  explanation  of  the  vague  de- 
claration of  an  undefined  truce,  and  demands 
that  the  royal  family  shall  be  brought  to  the 
frontiers,  that  the  four  commissaries  shall  also 
be  brought  thither,  and  that  the  parties  shall 
then  treat." 

Negotiations  had  been  opened  with  the 
Prince  of  Coburg,  and  at  that  very  moment, 
on  the  3rd  of  May,  Count  Fersen  records  that 
"  the  Comte  de  Mercy  has  been  ordered  to  join 
the  Prince  of  Coburg,  in  order  to  guide  his 
political  conduct.  ..."  This  is  not  all.  "  M. 
de  Mercy  said  to  Crawford  that  he  should  go 


344  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

once  a  week  to  see  tlie  Prince  of  Coburg ;  that 
he  had  full  powers  for  the  affairs  of  France  in 
the  widest  sense." 

It  is,  then,  quite  certain  that  it  depended 
upon  M.  de  Mercy  to  give  a  turn  to  the 
negotiations,  just  begun,  which  would  bring 
about  the  exchange  of  the  royal  family  for 
the  four  commissaries. 

But  this  was  not  M.  de  Mercy's  purpose. 
His  advice  was  that  no  negotiations  with  the 
French  should  be  carried  on,  that  no  pro- 
position should  be  listened  to,  for — so  he 
declares  beforehand — he  believed  "it  would 
lead  to  nothing.  Absolutely  nothing  but  force 
must  be  employed." 

From  such  an  attitude  terrible  consequences 
might  ensue,  and  certain  persons  regarded  it 
with  just  alarm.  Baron  de  Breteuil  endea- 
voured on  one  occasion  to  bring  M.  de  Mercy 
to  bay,  and  put  the  question  to  him  plainly — 

"  But  if,  by  a  possible  chance,  the  King 
and  Queen  of  France  were  free,  what  would 
you  do  ?     Would  you  receive  them  ?  " 

One  would  think  that  an  answer  should 
come  spontaneously  from  the  lips  of  the  diplo- 
matist. Not  at  all :  he  reflected  a  moment, 
and  said — 

"  Well,  that  is  a  theme  .  .  ." 

He  meant  by  this  "  a  supposition."  He 
deigned,  however,  to  consider  it,  and  his  con- 
clusion was,  that  "  if  it  were  proposed  to  liberate 
them  outside  the  kingdom,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary for  their  own  safety  to  refuse  ! " 

It    w^as    impossible    to     be    more    cynically 


DE  MERCY'S  BASENESS  345 

insensible  to  the  fate  of  the  victims  whose 
quarrel  was  ostensibly  embraced.  Baron  de 
Breteuil  perfectly  understood  the  motive  which 
led  M.  de  Mercy  to  speak  thus  ;  it  was  the 
fear  of  the  allies  "  having  to  confront  a 
power  with  which  it  would  be  necessary  to 
treat,  and  being  hampered  in  the  arrangements 
they  reckoned  on  making." 

This  mental  reservation  of  the  sovereigns 
could  not  escape  the  faithful  friends  of  the  un- 
happy captives,  and  Count  Fersen  himself  was 
obliged  to  recognise  and  own  it. 

In  the  note  which  he  had  drawn  up  for  Marie 
Antoinette  on  the  8th  of  May  ^a  passage  from 
this  has  already  been  quoted)  he  wrote : — 
"Your  will  concerning  the  re-establishment  of 
the  monarchy  will  still  be  hindered  by  the 
influence  of  the  coalised  powers.  There  is 
no  longer  any  doubt  that  the  partial  dis- 
memberment of  the  kingdom  is  decided  upon. 
.  .  .  M.  de  Mercy  cannot,  and  ought  not,  to 
give  you  advice  except  on  this  basis." 

Light  was  let  in  upon  the  selfish  policy 
of  the  sovereigns ;  then  came  testimony  more 
overwhelming  still,  that  if  M.  de  Mercy  was 
indiflerent,  M.  de  Thugut,  the  Austrian  Mini- 
ster, was  hostile  to  the  idea  of  receiving  the 
royal  family. 

The  Maret-Semonville  mission  was  charged, 
in  July  1793,  to  negotiate  an  "understand- 
ing" with  the  Governments  of  Venice,  Flor- 
ence, and  Naples.  (See,  for  a  detailed  narrative 
of  this  episode,  Un  Complot  sous  la  Terreur.) 
"  It  was  thought  certain,"  says  Maret,   "  that 


346  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

if  the  three  States  I  have  named  made  the 
safety  of  the  Queen  and  her  family  a  condition 
of  the  continuance  of  their  alliance,  it  would 
not  he  refused." 

That  was  precisely  what  Thugut  did  not 
wish,  and  accordingly  he  resorted  to  a  very 
simple  expedient  for  cutting  short  the  mis- 
sion. This  son  of  a  Danube  boatman  gave 
orders  for  the  arrest  of  the  two  plenipoten- 
tiaries at  Novale,  in  violation  of  the  law  of 
nations,  and  had  them  thrown  into  prison. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  exchange  of 
prisoners  was  a  genuine  desire,  and  this  was 
afterwards  confirmed  by  Drouet,  the  hero  of 
Varennes,  who  was  made  prisoner  at  Maubeuge. 
Being  questioned  by  Count  Metternich,  he  stated 
that  "  the  Queen  and  her  family  would  have 
been  given  for  the  four  commissaries  delivered 
up  by  Dumouriez ;  that  was  decided  J'  Drouet 
was  a  member  of  the  Convention ;  it  was  not 
surprising  that  he  should  be  aware  of  the  in- 
tentions of  the  Government. 

It  is,  then,  evident  that  the  responsibility 
for  the  fate  of  the  royal  family  ought  not  to 
be  thrown  solely  and  entirely  upon  the  Eevo- 
lutionary  party,  and  that,  although  the  for- 
eign sovereigns  made  a  show  of  zeal  in  their 
cause,  this  was  mere  hypocrisy  on  the  part  of 
most  of  them.  In  reality,  they  desired  an 
event  which  they  would  regard  as  a  triumph 
for  their  own  policy,  and  a  means  of  gratifying 
their  greed. 

What  of  the  Queen  in  Paris  ?  how  did  the 
days   pass   with    her,    while    her    false    friends 


THE  CONCIERGEEIE  347 

were  making  believe  to  bestir  themselves 
beyond  the  frontier? 

Under  strict  and  unremitting  guard  in  the 
Temple,  she  saw  her  true  friends  fail  in  each 
successive  effort  to  deliver  her  from  her  ter- 
rible bondage ;  after  Toulan  and  Jarjayes  came 
Michonis,  the  municipal,  Cortey,  the  grocer, 
and  the  famous  Baron  de  Batz,  who  all  con- 
spired to  save  her,  but  whose  plans  were 
defeated  at  the  last  moment  by  the  most  ex- 
traordinary and  mysterious  of  chances.  Yet 
these  cruel  disappointments  grieved  her  less 
severely  than  the  anguish  that  was  inflicted 
upon  her  through  her  son.  About  this  time  she 
was  separated  from  the  little  King,  by  an  order 
equally  senseless  and  inhuman,  and  he  was  re- 
moved to  another  floor  of  the  Tour  du  Temple. 

"  What  a  dreadful  grief  for  the  Queen ! 
Unhappy  princess  ! "  exclaims  Count  Fersen  on 
learning  this  news  (12th  July). 

There  was  worse  to  come  soon.  The  foreign 
armies  were  victorious  in  a  few  fights,  and  the 
Convention  retaliated  by  voting  on  a  motion 
by  Barere  for  a  series  of  ultra -revolutionary 
measures.  Among  these  was  the  transfer  of 
Marie  Antoinette  from  the  Temple  to  the 
Conciergerie.  The  decree  was  executed  without 
delay,  and  the  Queen  of  France,  parted  from 
all  who  were  left  to  her,  awaited  her  trial  in 
a  prison  cell ! 

Every  scrap  of  information  that  reached  him 
increased  the  misery  of  the  unhappy  Count. 
What  would  his  anguish  have  been  had  he  then 
known  the  details  which  he  learned  afterwards 


348  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

and  recorded  in  his  journal !  Some  of  tliese 
are  heartrending. 

"  They  say  that  the  hackney-  coach  which 
brought  the  unfortunate  Queen  to  the  Concier- 
gerie  was  filled  with  blood ;  that  the  driver 
did  not  know,  but  that  he  suspected  whom 
she  was,  having  had  to  wait  a  long  time ;  that 
on  arriving  at  the  Conciergerie,  it  was  some 
time  before  they  alighted  ;  that  the  men  got  out 
first,  and  the  woman  after ;  that  she  supported 
herself  on  his  arm,  and  that  he  found  his  coach 
all  filled  with  blood." 

In  vain  does  he  add,  "  But  all  this  is  not 
very  authentic."  Perhaps  he  strove  to  deceive 
himself.  It  was  authentic ;  these  sad  details 
were  only  too  true. 

The  Chevalier  de  Eougeville,  who  fortunately 
eluded  the  warrant  for  his  arrest  which  was 
issued  after  his  abortive  attempt  and  his  visit 
to  the  Conciergerie,  gave  Count  Fersen  other 
particulars  of  the  Queen's  captivity.  He  records 
these  in  his  notes  with  the  reverential  com- 
passion of  a  faithful  friend. 

"  Her  room  was  the  third  door  on  entering 
to  the  right,  opposite  Custine's ;  it  was  on  the 
ground-floor,  the  window  opening  on  the  court- 
yard, which  was  crowded  all  day  with  prisoners, 
who  looked  in  through  the  glass  and  insulted 
the  Queen. 

"  The  room  was  small,  damp,  and  ill-smelling ; 
there  was  neither  stove  nor  chimney ;  there 
were  three  beds :  one  for  the  Queen,  the 
other,  by  the  side  of  hers,  for  the  woman 
who    served    her ;    the    third,    for    the    two 


THE  QUEEN'S  LAST  PKISOK  349 

geudarmes,  who  never  left  tlie  room  on  any 
occasion  or  under  any  circumstances  what- 
soever. 

"  The  "Queen's  bedstead  was,  like  the  others, 
of  wood,  the  bedding  consisted  of  a  straw 
mattress,  a  woollen  mattress,  and  a  worn 
and  dirty  blanket,  which  had  been  used  by 
prisoners  for  a  long  time ;  the  sheets  were  of 
coarse  grey  linen,  the  same  as  those  on  the 
other  beds  ;  there  were  no  curtains,  only  an 
old  screen. 

"  The  Queen  was  dressed  in  a  black  loose 
jacket  (caraco),  her  hair  was  cut  short  on  her 
forehead,  and  quite  grey  at  the  back ;  she  was 
so  thin  that  she  could  hardly  be  recognised, 
and  so  weak  that  she  could  scarcely  keep  herself 
upon  her  legs.  She  had  three  circlets  on  her 
fingers,  but  no  jewelled  rings. 

"  The  woman  who  served  her  was  a  sort 
of  fishwife,  of  whom  she  complained  very 
much. 

"  The  gendarmes  told  Michonis  that  Madame 
did  not  eat,  and  that  if  this  went  on  she  could 
not  live ;  they  said  her  food  was  very  bad, 
and  one  of  them  brought  a  small  stale  chicken, 
and  showed  it  to  Michonis. 

" '  There'  he  said,  ' is  a  chiclcen  which 
Madame  has  not  eaten,  and  it  has  been  served 
to  her  these  four  days' 

"The  gendarmes  complained  of  their  bed, 
although  it  was  exactly  like  the  Queen's. 

"  The  Queen  always  slept  fully-dressed,  in 
black,  expecting  every  moment  to  be  massacred 
or  led  to  the  scaffold,  and  wishing  to  go  thither 

16 


350  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

in  mourning.  Eougeville  says  that  Miclionis 
wept  while  confirming  the  statement  of  the 
haemorrhage  from  which  the  Queen  suffered, 
and  told  him  that  when  it  was  necessary  to 
procure  the  black  jacket  and  some  indispen- 
sable linen  for  the  Queen  from  the  Temple, 
he  could  not  go  until  after  a  '  deliberation ' 
of  the  Council." 

The  announcement  that  Marie  Antoinette 
was  about  to  be  brought  before  the  Eevolu- 
tionary  Tribunal  threw  Fersen  into  a  state  of 
acute  distress ;  but  he  was  not  one  of  those 
friends  who  are  to  be  beaten  by  failure.  Not- 
withstanding the  defeat  of  all  his  previous  efforts 
for  the  deliverance  of  the  Queen,  he  still  con- 
templated a  fresh  attempt. 

Deep  and  powerful  indeed  must  have  been 
the  feeling  that  nerved  him  to  such  endeavour, 
for  he  received  but  slender  support  from  those 
whom  he  would  fain  have  made  his  accomplices. 

He  placed  little  reliance  upon  the  zeal  of 
M.  de  Mercy,  but  was  obliged  to  apply  to  him 
in  the  first  instance,  because  only  Mercy  had 
sufficient  influence  to  second  his  efforts.  A 
fresh  disappointment  awaited  him.  "  The  Count 
received  him  like  a  man  of  ice.  He  saw  only 
impossibility  in  his  ideas.  He  believed  the 
royal  family  to  he  lost,  that  nothing  could  be 
done  for  them." 

However,  Count  Fersen  still  persevered ;  he 
communicated  his  plan  to  Count  de  la  Mark, 
and  succeeded  in  inspiring  the  Count  with  his 
own  ardour.  They  made  a  second  joint-appeal 
to  the  former  Ambassador. 


A  LAST  KESOUECE  351 

There  was  notliing  to  be  done,  according 
to  their  present  view,  in  the  way  of  political 
action,  of  setting  the  incapable  diplomatists 
of  the  warring  nations  in  motion,  and  intrust- 
ing them  to  fresh  negotiations  destined  to 
pitiable  failure.  No,  they  must  address  them- 
selves directly  to  one  of  the  men  who  were 
then  leading  France,  and  obtain  help  from  him 
to  take  the  Queen  out  of  prison  and  set  her 
at  liberty,  by  promises,  at  need  by  money, 
and  even  by  the  threat  of  future  reprisals. 
Finally,  M.  de  Mercy  accepted  this  idea,  but 
the  way  in  which  he  carried  it  out  permits 
us  to  doubt  his  sincerity.  The  two  men 
he  selected  to  fulfil  this  delicate  mission 
were  not  persons  whom  we  should  expect 
to  find  ensraged  in  such  a  matter.  One  was 
Novere,  a  ballet-master,  the  other  was  Ribbes,  a 
financier,  who  having  hitherto  managed  all 
parties  in  the  interests  of  his  own  particular 
operations,  was  no  more  worthy  of  the  con- 
fidence of  those  who  sent  him,  than  of  those  to 
whom  he  was  sent. 

Neither  this  selection  nor  the  ^  mission 
seemed  very  promising,  especially  to  Baron 
de  Breteuil,  who  feared  lest  this  proceeding 
should  excite  rather  than  check  the  "  scoun- 
drelism"  of  the  demagogues.  But  Fersen  had 
none  of  these  scruples.  He  thought,  rightly, 
that  although  there  might  have  been  grounds 
for  such  a  fear  while  the  Queen  was  still  in 
the  Temple  with  her  son,  and  not  directly 
threatened,  the  moment  was  now  past.  What 
was  the  risk  ?     In  the  existing  state  of  things, 


35?  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

the  position  of  tlie  person  for  wliom  they  were 
interested  could  not  be  made  worse,  and  there 
was  apparently  some  chance  that  it  might  be 
improved. 

At  Fersen's  urgent  entreaties,  Baron  de 
Breteuil  consented  to  see  Eibbes.  They  re- 
garded Danton  as  the  person  whose  influence 
was  at  that  time  greatest  in  France,  and 
decided  upon  addressing  themselves  to  him. 
Ribbes  was  to  have  him  asked  by  his  (Ribbes') 
brother  for  an  interview  near  Paris,  at  which 
he  would  treat  for  the  ransom  of  the  Queen. 
Dan  ton's  reputation  justified  to  a  certain 
extent  their  hopes  of  the  possibility  of 
buying  him ;  they  did  not  take  so  much 
into  account  the  chance  of  Danton's  recom- 
mencing the  game  he  had  already  played  with 
the  Court.  That  game  was  to  take  the  money, 
and  always  to  put  ofi"  the  support  he  pro- 
mised in  return  for  it  until  a  later  day. 
Moreover,  supposing  Danton  to  be  bought,  to 
be  willing,  would  he  have  the  power  to  do 
what  they  wanted  ? 

Before  the  project  had  reached  this  point, 
other  obstacles,  always  of  M.  de  Mercy's  making, 
arose  to  hinder  its  execution. 

The  Count  began  by  declaring  that  it  was 
not  necessary  to  promise  money ;  that  it  would 
be  sufficient  to  offer  "favours,  security,  pro- 
tection, and  pardon."  This  was  childish.  He 
was  made  to  see  that  it  was  so  by  such  sound 
reasoning  that  either  he  could  not  persist  in 
the  idea,  or  he  pretended  to  yield,  at  the 
same    time    putting   forward    fresh    objections. 


SUBTERFUGE  353 

He  formally  opposed  Eibbes's  presenting  him- 
self to  Danton  as  coming  in  the  Emperor's 
name  to  treat  for  the  ransom  of  his  aunt. 
He  said  that  the  men  to  whom  they  would 
have  to  apply  would  very  likely  be  delighted 
to  divulge  their  overtures,  and  in  that  case  the 
Powers  who  had  not  been  informed  might  take 
umbrage,  and  thereby  the  already  great  diffi- 
culties of  the  coalition  would  be  complicated. 

He  advised  that  Eibbes  should  approach 
Danton  in  the  name  of  certain  speculators  inte- 
rested in  the  political  affairs  of  Europe. 

"  This  was  a  miserable  device,"  writes  Count 
Fersen,  "  and  the  change  in  M.  de  Mercy's  ideas 
surprised  and  grieved  me.  La  Mark  himself, 
without  saying  so,  seemed  to  disapprove.  / 
was  so  much  the  more  pained  because  I  thought 
I  could  perceive  that  M.  de  Mercy  s  second 
objection  arose  from  his  doubt  as  to  hoiv  far 
the  Powers,  and  even  Austria,  truly  desired 
the  freedom  of  the  Queen;  for  as  the  basis  of 
the  negotiation  was  to  be  the  laying  aside  of 
every  political  idea,  and  demanding  the  Queen 
as  a  simple  individual,  the  aunt  of  her  nephew, 
that  demand  could  not  influence  the  political 
operation,  or  embroil  the  coalition.  M.  de 
Mercy  had  also  added — 

" '  /  am  obliged  to  say  it  with  regret,  but 
if  the  Queen  were  on  the  scaffold,  that  last 
atrocity  coidd  not  stop  the  Powers  or  change 
their  march.'  " 

Such  a  sentence  uttered  by  a  diplomatist  was 
assuredly  very  significant.  It  made  Baron  de 
Breteuil  indignant,  and  Count  Fersen  also,  but 


354  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

the  latter,  who  was  more  anxious  about  the 
fate  of  Marie  Antoinette  than  hurt  by  the 
cynical  saying  of  Mercy,  tried  to  profit  by 
that  small  amount  of  good-will  which  the 
Count  did  not  as  yet  venture  formally  to 
withhold. 

It  was  not  easy  to  do  this.  Eibbes  having 
come  to  him,  highly  discontented  with  the 
hindrances  put  in  the  way  of  his  mission, 
Fersen  saw  clearly  that  the  prospect  of  figuring 
as  an  important  personage,  and  posing  as  a 
plenipotentiary,  had  charmed  the  financier,  who 
was  vexed  at  being  prevented  from  playing  a 
part  which  flattered  his  very  real  vanity  more 
than  it  gratified  his  hypothetical  ardour  in  the 
cause. 

Fersen  begged  him  not  to  distress  himself, 
but  to  accept  the  mission,  or  rather  the  com- 
mission, proposed  to  him.  Eibbes  ended  by 
accepting,  and  set  out  on  the  4th  of  September. 
But  he  did  not  go  far,  and  a  few  days  after- 
wards he  came  back.  "  He  had  adopted  the 
plan  of  writing  to  Danton  in  a  manner  unin- 
telligible to  all  but  himself,  and  had  sent  him 
the  letter." 

What  could  a  letter  do  under  the  circum- 
stances, and  in  the  midst  of  the  events  that 
were  hurrying  on  ? 

"  I  fear  it  will  arrive  too  late,"  says  Fersen, 
"  and  how  bitterly  will  M.  de  Mercy  have  to 
reproach  himself,  he  who  has  caused  eight  days 
to  be  lost  by  staying  away  in  the  country,  and 
four  more  since  his  return  by  all  the  difiiculties 
he  has  made  ! " 


FEESEN  MEETS  DROUET  355 

And  in  his  pain  he  adds  :  "  This  is  horrifying 
to  think  of.  May  God  preserve  her,  and  give  me 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  her  again  some  day." 

In  God  only  did  he  hope  at  this  dark  hour  : 
the  news  from  Paris  was  bad,  very  bad  !  The 
Queen's  trial  was  imminent ;  she  had  already 
been  subjected  to  a  first  examination  before 
the  Committee  of  General  Safety.  What  was 
known  of  the  sentences  pronounced  by  the 
Eevolutionary  Tribunal  was  well  calculated  to 
appal  him. 

The  days  passed  with  terrible  rapidity. 
The  beginning  of  October  had  come,  and  at 
that  moment  chance  brought  Fersen  in  contact 
with  a  man  who  had  had  a  tragic  influence 
upon  the  fate  of  the  Queen — a  man  who  had 
frustrated  all  the  Count's  former  efforts :  this 
was  Drouet,  who  had  been  made  prisoner  at 
Maubeuge. 

The  sight  of  the  man  who  had  stopped  the 
berline  at  Varennes  which  he,  Fersen,  had 
got  safely  out  of  Paris,  enraged  the  Count : — 
"The  sight  of  that  infamous  wretch  put 
me  into  a  fury,"  he  writes ;  "  and  the  effort 
which  I  made  not  to  say  anything  to  him, 
on  account  of  the  Abbe  de  Limon  and  the 
Comte  de  Fitz-James,  w^ho  were  with  us,  made 
me  ill." 

An  officer,  who  was  captured  with  Drouet, 
declared  that  the  Queen  was  in  no  danger, 
and  that  she  had  all  she  wanted !  Fersen  did 
not  believe  a  word  of  this.  "  The  infamous 
scoundrels,"  he  says,  "  how  they  lie  ! " 

The  terrible  moment  was  approaching.    Count 


3S6  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Fersen  felt  it,  although  the  news  from  Paris 
was  contradictory,  and  restored  him  to  hope 
or  plunged  him  into  despondency  by  turns.  He 
was  no  longer  the  cold  and  correct  personage 
whom  some  of  his  contemporaries  have  depicted. 
His  misgiving,  or  rather  his  misery,  is  appa- 
rent in  the  brief  notes  he  makes  in  the  pages 
of  his  journal.  Now  comes  the  moment  of 
supreme  anguish. 

The  Queen  had  appeared  before  the  Revo- 
lutionary Tribunal  on  the  13th  October,  and, 
as  it  was  to  be  expected,  she  had  been  con- 
demned to  death.  The  execution  was  to  follow 
close  upon  the  sentence. 

Couched  in  terms  of  irony,  hideous  in  its  gross- 
ness,  came  the  awful  news  to  the  wretched  man  : 
he  was  handed  a  letter  which  had  been  written 
from  Paris,  and  contained  the  following  atrocious 
sentence  : — "  This  morning  Marie  Antoinette  is 
to  appear  at  the  National  Window." 

"  Although  I  was  prepared  for  it,"  he  says, 
"  and,  since  she  was  transferred  to  the  Con- 
ciergerie,  have  been  expecting  it,  the  certainty 
overcame  me ;  /  had  not  strength  to  feel  any- 
thing. I  went  out  to  speak  of  this  misfor- 
tune with  my  friends  Mme.  de  Fitz-James  and 
Baron  de  Breteuil,  whom  I  did  not  find.  The 
Gazette  of  the  1 7th  speaks  of  it.  It  was  on  the 
T6th.  at  half-past  eleven,  that  this  execrable 
crime  was  committed,  and  the  Divine  vengeance 
has  not  yet  fallen  upon  the  monsters  ! " 

He  no  longer  thinks  of  hiding  his  grief,  and 
he  speaks  in  profoundly  touching  words  of  her 
whom  he  loved  so  faithfully. 


THE  END  357 

"  Monday,  2  ist. — I  can  think  only  of  my  loss. 
It  is  dreadful  not  to  have  any  positive  details. 
That  she  should  have  been  alone  in  her  last 
moments,  without  consolation,  without  any  one 
to  speak  to,  to  hear  her  last  wishes !  That  is 
horrifying  !  The  monsters  of  hell !  No,  without 
vengeance  my  heart  will  never  be  content." 

Until  the  end  of  his  life  he  had  to  bear 
in  his  heart  the  grief  of  that  death ;  it  was 
not  granted  to  Fersen's  love  either  to  save  Marie 
Antoinette  or  to  avenge  her. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Consequences  of  the  Queen's  death— The  Regent  of  Sweden 
deprives  Count  Fersen  of  his  diplomatic  post — Recognition 
of  the  French  Republic — The  son  of  Gustavus  III. — Re- 
actionary policy — The  majority  of  Gustavus  IV.  is  pro- 
claimed (6th  November  1796) — Count  Fersen  at  the 
Congress  of  Rastadt — General  Bonaparte's  speech  to  Fersen 
— Return  to  Sweden — The  strong  protest  of  Gustavus  IV. 
against  Napoleon  is  attributed  to  Count  Fersen — The  fall 
01  Gustavus  IV. — The  Duke  of  Suderraania  is  proclaimed 
King  under  the  name  of  Charles  XIII. — Adoption  of  Prince 
Christian  of  Holstein-Augustenburg — Sudden  death  of  the 
Prince — Rumours  of  poison — Accusations  against  Count 
Fersen,  and  against  his  sister,  Countess  Piper — Popular 
excitement — Moral  complicity  of  the  King — Funeral  cere- 
mony of  the  20th  of  June  18 10 — Popular  feeling  against 
the  Grand  Marshal — Count  Fersen  is  massacred  in  the 
courtyard  of  the  H6tel-de-Ville. 

Count  Fersen,  struck  to  the  heart  by  this 
frightful  catastrophe,  found  his  only  solace  in 
talking  incessantly  of  the  dead  Queen  with 
those  who  had  known  and  loved  her.  The 
arrival  of  Baron  de  Goguelat,  who  had  fortu- 
nately got  out  of  France,  where  his  life  was 
not  safe,  was  a  consolation  to  him ;  they 
could  speak  to  each  other  of  "  the  unhappy 
princess "  whose  remembrance  was  ever  living 
in  their  hearts.  These  conversations,  which  re- 
kindled their  sorrow,  also  increased  it,  and  the 
hope  of  avenging  that  august  victim  of  the 
French  Revolution  excited  their  enmity  against 
both  the  Revolution  and  France. 

The   information    received    from    Paris,    the 

358 


TWO  ENEMIES  OF  FEANCE  359 

accounts  of  the  captivity  of  the  royal  chil- 
dren and  Madame  Elizabeth,  served  to  intensify 
their  purpose  of  conflict  with  "the  abominable 
Convention. 

"  How  horrible  ! "  wrote  Fersen,  *'  and  how- 
is  it  that  Divine  justice  does  not  avenge  such 
deeds  ? " 

He  appealed  in  his  wrath  to  God  more 
than  to  men,  for  he  began  to  see  clearly 
that  the  latter  were  powerless  to  execute 
the  task  of  justice.  His  delusion  was  all 
over ;  the  whole  truth  had  come  home  to 
him  now,  and  on  this  point  his  mind  had 
recovered  its  cool  and  complete  lucidity.  *'  It 
is  painfully  plain,  through  all  these  intrigues, 
how  little  the  sovereigns  know  concerning  the 
affairs  of  France,  and  how  little  they  feel  the 
danger  that  threatens  them  all  if  this  fire  he 
not  tram^pled  out." 

He  draws  a  melancholy  contrast  between 
the  enemies  in  array :  on  one  side,  France, 
without  generals,  destitute  of  all  the  neces- 
saries of  war,  with  troops  hastily  gathered 
together,  without  resources,  without  money, 
suffering  from  dearth,  torn  by  civil  war, 
obliged  to  defend  herself  at  almost  every 
point  of  her  territory;  on  the  other  side, 
the  great  Powers,  provided  with  numerous 
and  well-disciplined  troops,  free  to  move  as 
they  will ;  and,  in  spite  of  all  these  ad- 
vantages, he  records  that  "after  an  eight 
months'  campaign  by  the  Austrian,  Prussian, 
English,  Spanish,  Sardinian,  Italian,  and  Im- 
perial armies,   the   territory   intact,    except   at 


3'6o  A  FEIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

two  points  only,  and  for  three  or  four  leagues, 
and  winter  quarters  have  not  been  established 
in  France." 

What  friend  of  the  French  nation,  what 
fervent  adherent  of  the  Kevolution,  has  ever 
passed  a  more  eloquent  eulogium  on  either 
or  both  ?  Does  not  this  testimony  prove  the 
singular  vitality  and  strength  of  the  nation 
that  was  hailing  a  new  principle  of  existence  ? 

Fersen  did  not,  indeed,  understand,  but  he 
instinctively  hated,  those  hitherto  unknown 
elements  which  were  forcing  their  blood-stained 
way  into  the  worm-eaten  fabric  of  the  old 
social  systems,  and  he  could  not  tolerate  their 
formidable  attacks  upon  the  established  order 
of  things.  Still  less  could  he  forgive  them  the 
victims — the  victim — whom  they  had  immolated. 

The  "Divine  vengeance"  which  he  invoked 
was  apparently  no  more  disposed  to  punish 
the  death  of  Marie  Antoinette  than  the  assas- 
sination of  Gustavus  III.,  and  the  French 
Revolution,  despite  Fersen's  invocation  of  the 
lightnings  of  Heaven  and  the  armies  of  the 
kings,  seemed  to  defy  and  defeat  fortune. 
It  found  friends  where  it  was  believed  to 
have  enemies.  Sweden  was  of  this  number, 
and  the  Duke  of  Sudermania,  who  had  for 
some  time  pursued  the  policy  of  Gustavus  III., 
began  to  detach  himself  from  it,  and  was  evi- 
dently about  to  come  to  an  understanding  with 
the  Government  of  the  Republic. 
,  Count  Fersen  was  becoming  troublesome ; 
for,  his  principles  being  immutable,  like  his 
aifection,  he  would  not  countenance  any  conces- 


FERSEN  IN  DISGRACE  361 

sion.  The  first  pretext  that  could  be  found 
was  eagerly  used  to  get  rid  of  a  representa- 
tive whose  mission,  formerly  conferred  upon 
him  in  a  moment  of  enthusiasm,  had  become 
embarrassing  and  slightly  ridiculous.  He  was 
accused  of  having  regarded  a  conspiracy  formed 
by  Baron  Armfeldt,  one  of  his  friends,  to 
proclaim  the  majority  of  Gustavus  lY.  prema- 
turely, and  deprive  the  Duke  of  Sudermania 
of  the  regency,  with  a  favourable  eye,  and 
he  was  deprived  of  his  diplomatic  functions, 
also  of  the  title  of  "Ambassador  to  King 
Louis  XVIL" 

Fersen  understood  the  full  bearing  of  his 
dismissal.  That  incident  took  place  in  March 
1794.  A  year  later,  M.  de  Stael,  who  had 
resumed  his  functions  in  Paris,  recognised  the 
French  Republic  in  the  name  of  Sweden. 

The  "  Friend  of  the  Queen "  was  too  devout 
a  worshipper  at  the  shrine  of  memory,  he 
cherished  in  his  heart  too  keen  a  longing  for 
vengeance,  to  own  himself  beaten  and  relin- 
quish the  strife.  There  still  remained  a  good 
chance  that  he  might  recover  his  influence, 
and  once  more  get  his  country  governed  ac- 
cording to  the  political  theories  of  the  murdered 
King. 

The  young  Gustavus  Adolphus  would  soon 
attain  his  majority ;  on  him  Fersen  built  his 
hopes.  He  endeavoured  to  breathe  his  own 
sentiments  and  ideas  into  the  heart  and  mind 
of  the  youthful  prince,  and  he  had  the  satis- 
faction of  succeeding  in  this.  On  the  6th  of 
November  1796,  the  majority  of  Gustavus  IV. 


362  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN" 

was  proclaimed ;  he  assumed  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, and  the  Duke  of  Sudermania  went  into 
retirement. 

Count  Fersen's  restoration  to  favour  was 
promptly  made  manifest,  and  when  the  Con- 
gress of  Rastadt  (1797)  was  opened,  it  was 
he  whom  the  young  King  sent  as  plenipoten- 
tiary. His  rdle  in  the  Congress  was  likely  to  be 
very  subordinate,  since  the  attitude  of  Sweden 
towards  France  was  again  altered  to  such  an 
extent  that  all  diplomatic  relations  between 
the  two  countries  were  broken  off ;  but  an  inci- 
dent occurred  which  brought  him  forward  in  an 
equally  unexpected  and  disagreeable  manner. 

General  Bonaparte,  travelling  by  Piedmont 
and  Switzerland,  arrived  at  Rastadt.  The 
General,  who  had  just  made  himself  illustrious 
by  his  campaign  in  Italy,  the  victor  of  Areola 
and  Rivoli,  the  signatory  of  the  Treaty  of 
Campo-Formio,  had  no  notion  of  dealing  with 
the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  great  Powers  other- 
wise than  as  he  dealt  with  their  generals  ; 
that  is  to  say,  he  meant  to  talk  to  them  as 
their  master. 

Count  Fersen  appeared  to  be  unaware  of 
this,  and  let  it  be  openly  known  among  his 
colleagues  that  he  intended  to  defend  the 
Treaty  of  Westphalia,  although  that  treaty  had 
been  torn  up  at  Campo-Formio. 

This  was  not  all.  Montgaillard  had  made  over- 
tures to  General  Bonaparte,  immediately  on  his 
arrival,  in  favour  of  a  restoration  of  the  Bourbons, 
and,  rightly  or  wrongly,  a  report  was  spread  that 
Count  Fersen  had  instigated  that  proceeding. 


GENERAL  BONAPARTE  363 

General  Bonaparte,  who  entertained  a  well- 
founded  antipathy  to  Louis  XVIIL,  and  who 
proposed  to  himself  to  do  something  very  dif- 
ferent from  restoring  the  throne  of  France  by 
his  own  hands,  and  then  placing  that  prince 
upon  it,  was  profoundly  irritated  by  these  over- 
tures and  pretensions,  and  he  skilfully  availed 
himself  of  the  first  opportunity  to  give  vent  to 
his  anger. 

When  Count  Fersen  presented  himself  at 
the  General's  hotel  to  pay  his  compliments, 
Bonaparte  asked  him  to  have  the  goodness  to 
inform  him  what  Minister  from  Sweden  was 
then  in  Paris. 

There  was  none.  Count  Fersen  made  an 
embarrassed  answer. 

Bonaparte  replied  sharply  that  it  was  sur- 
prising the  Court  of  Sweden  should  so  conduct 
itself  towards  a  nation  with  which  it  had  had 
friendly  relations  for  a  long  period ;  then, 
making  a  direct  thrust  at  his  adversary,  he 
added  that  the  Court  of  Sweden  seemed  to 
take  pleasure  in  sending  on  all  occasions  agents, 
ministers,  and  ambassadors  who  were  person- 
ally disagi^eeable  to  every  French  citizen;  that 
no  doubt  the  E^ng  of  Sweden  would  regard 
a  French  Minister  who  had  tried  to  raise  the 
people  of  Stockholm  against  him,  with  dis- 
favour ;  and  that  the  French  Eepublic  like- 
wise ought  not  to  suffer  men  too  well  known 
for  their  connection  with  the  former  Court  of 
France  to  he  sent  to  mock  the  Minister  of  the 
first  nation  of  the  earth.  .  .   c 

Fersen    could    not    fail    to    understand    the 


364  A  FRIEITD  OF  THE  QUEE^- 

personal  allusions  of  this  apostrophe ;  but  what 
was  he  to  say  in  reply  ?  He  maintained  his 
apparent  composure,  and  said  only  that  "  he 
would  make  known  to  his  Court  what  he  had 
just  heard,"  thus  saving  his  dignity  by  dint 
of  diplomatic  reserve  and  coolness.  He  then 
retired  without  another  word. 

Such  an  adventure  was  certainly  not  calcu- 
lated to  diminish  his  dislike  to  the  political 
doctrines  whose  triumph  permitted  a  victorious 
general  to  treat  one  of  the  representatives  of 
the  oldest  nobility  in  such  high-handed  fashion. 
On  his  return  to  Sweden  he  advised  the  young 
King  to  the  most  reactionary  measures  more 
urgently  than  before,  so  that  when  Gustavus  IV. 
thought  proper  to  put  forth  a  strong  protest 
against  Napoleon  in  1805,  the  inspiration  and 
the  composition  of  the  document  were  alike 
attributed  to  Count  Fersen. 

But  what  could  proclamations  or  oppositions 
do  against  the  Emperor  of  the  French?  He 
replied  to  them  only  by  victories.  Austerlitz 
defeated  all  the  hopes  of  the  enemies  of  the 
Empire. 

In  vain  did  Sweden,  still  impelled  by  Count 
Fersen,  give  a  kindly  welcome  to  the  French 
refugees,  in  vain  did  she  place  herself  in  touch 
with  the  secret  agents  of  the  House  of  Bourbon, 
such  as  Fauche-Borel ;  these  petty  plots  came 
to  nothing.  Other  hands  were  needed  to  seize 
and  subdue  the  steed  and  the  horseman  who 
were  galloping  about  the  world,  trampling 
under  foot  all  that  resisted  them  as  they 
passed. 


EMPTY  HONOUES  FOR  FERSEN  365 

By  degrees,  Fersen  came  to  recognise  the 
uselessness  of  liis  efforts,  and  the  despon- 
dency that  attended  this  conviction,  added 
to  his  successive  bereavements,  turned  the 
"handsome  Fersen"  of  former  days  into  a 
moody  and  melancholy  man.  His  eldest  sister, 
the  Baroness  Klinckowstrom,  had  died  in  1792  ; 
Count  Frederick,  his  father,  in  1794.  In  1800 
he  lost  his  mother ;  Baron  Taube,  his  best 
friend,  the  confidant  of  his  political  hopes, 
had  died  a  year  previously.  On  that  grieving 
heart,  which  for  ever  mourned  the  beloved 
Queen  in  faithful  silence,  each  of  these  losses 
inflicted  a  fresh  wound. 

Meanwhile  the  King  loaded  him  with  favours. 
He  made  him  Chancellor  of  the  Academy  of 
Upsala,  a  peer  of  the  realm,  a  Knight  of  the 
Order  of  the  Seraphim ;  he  gave  him  every  proof 
of  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held.  These 
were  distinctions  which  might  have  satisfied 
his  vanity,  if  small  passions  could  hold  any 
place  in  a  heart  laden  with  great  sorrows. 

Very  soon  a  fresh  revolution  broke  out  in 
his  own  country  and  once  more  overthrew  the 
plans  of  Count  Fersen.  King  Gustavus  IV., 
an  inept  ruler,  so  seriously  displeased  his 
subjects,  both  nobles  and  people,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  abdicate  ( 1 3th  March  1 809),  and  the 
son  of  Gustavus  III.  had  to'  tread  the  path 
of  exile.  His  posterity  were  deprived  of  all 
their  rights,  and  the  crown  reverted  to  the 
Duke  of  Sudermania,  the  former  Eegent. 

The  King's  fall  deprived  Count  Fersen,  who 
was  even  more  unpopular  than  his  sovereign, 


366  A  FKIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

of  his  last  stay.  A  numerous  party  had  been 
persistently  inimical  to  him,  and  would  not  now 
be  satisfied  by  the  overthrow  of  Gustavus  IV. 
unless  an  end  were  also  made  of  his  detested 
favourite  ;  and  an  incident  occurred  very  soon 
which  let  loose  the  storm  that  had  Ions;  been 
gathering  over  his  devoted  head. 

The  Duke  of  Sudermania,  proclaimed  King 
under  the  name  of  Charles  XIII. ,  had  no 
child.  In  order  to  secure  the  succession  to 
the  throne,  and  to  render  the  exclusion  of 
the  posterity  of  Gustavus  IV.  more  certain, 
the  new  monarch  adopted  Prince  Christian  of 
Holstein-Augustenburg.  A  few  months  after- 
wards Prince  Christian  had  an  apoplectic 
stroke  while  reviewing  some  troops  in  Scania, 
and  died  suddenly  on  the  28th  of  May  18 10. 
The  very  circumstances  of  his  death  for- 
bade it  to  be  attributed  to  anything  but  an 
accidental  cause  ;  but  political  passions  are 
beyond  reason.  A  rumour  was  spread  that 
the  Prince  had  been  poisoned,  that  the 
deed  had  been  done  by  the  partisans  of 
the  fallen  dynasty,  and  Count  Fersen  and  his 
youngest  sister.  Countess  Piper,  were  frequently 
mentioned  in  ominous  connection  with  the 
matter. 

The  leaders  of  the  party  which  had  over- 
thrown the  elder  branch  of  the  Vasas  were 
very  desirous  once  for  all  to  rid  themselves 
(while  effectually  frightening  the  last  remain- 
ing followers  of  that  dynasty)  of  so  highly 
placed  a  personage  as  Count  Fersen,  whose 
position,  wealth,  and  great  name  made  him  a 


rmAL  RUIN  367 

rallying-point  for  the  nobility,  and  who  might 
again  become  dangerous  to  his  adversaries.  The 
opportunity  to  "  suppress  "  him  was  propitious  ; 
they  did  not  allow  it  to  escape. 

The  populace,  which  finds  consolation  for  its 
exclusion  from  the  direction  of  affairs  in  a 
ready  belief  in  secret  transactions  of  every 
kind,  has  an  innate  taste  for  the  mysterious, 
and  is  ready  to  adopt  all  sorts  of  opinions, 
provided  only  that  people  will  take  the  trouble 
of  sugo-estins;  them. 

After  a  few  days'  circulation  of  these  in- 
sinuations, no  doubt  was  entertained  of  the 
guilt  of  Count  Fersen,  his  sister,  and  a  few 
other  great  personages,  and  the  popular  wrath 
against  those  enemies  of  the  people  rose  high, 
'i'his  was  kept  up  by  distributions  of  money 
and  brandy,  and,  rapidly  reaching  its  par- 
oxysm, it  threatened  to  vent  itself  in  deeds  of 
violence.  Count  Fersen,  who  was  warned  of 
the  fact,  did  not  dread,  while  the  dastardly 
King  desired,  such  deeds.  It  is  recorded  that 
Charles  XIII. ,  being  informed  by  the  compe- 
tent authorities  that  a  disturbance  was  to 
be  expected  on  the  day  of  Prince  Christian's 
funeral  if  the  Grand  Marshal  should  be  pre- 
sent, merely  answered,  "  It  would  not  be  a 
bad  thing  that  this  proud  lord  should  receive 
a  lesson." 

These  imprudent  and  cruel  words  were  re- 
peated, and  they  contributed  to  bring  about 
a  popular  tumult,  which  did  not  stop  short 
at  "  a  lesson,"  and  was  aggravated  by  the  pre- 
arranged omission  of  any  military  precautions. 


368  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

The  date  of  the  royal  obsequies  had  been 
fixed  for  the  20th  of  June  18 10. 

What  remembrances  must  that  anniversary 
have  awakened  in  Count  Fersen !  On  the 
same  date,  nineteen  years  before,  the  Queen's 
friend  had  attempted  to  wrest  the  royal  family 
of  France  from  their  enemies,  and  from  that 
moment  their  misfortunes  and  his  own  had 
begun.  The  coincidence  might  have  daunted 
a  superstitious  nature,  a  mind  less  finely 
tempered,  less  utterly  detached  from  the 
things  of  life  than  his ;  but  since  he  had  lost 
all  that  he  loved,  since  he  had  witnessed  the 
defeat  and  renunciation  of  the  principles  he 
cherished,  and  the  objects  he  revered,  what  did 
life  matter  to  him?  He  had  none  of  these 
fears ;  he  despised  insult,  and  of  death  he  had 
no  dread. 

Therefore,  on  the  day  when  the  body  of  the 
deceased  prince  was  brought  back,  with  solemn 
pomp,  from  Liljeholm  to  Stockholm,  "  Count 
Fersen,  in  full  ceremonial  dress,  entered  the 
gilded  coach,  drawn  by  six  white  horses,  which 
was  to  convey  him  to  the  place  where  he  was 
to  meet  the  funeral  procession,  and  from  thence 
to  the  city.  The  escort  set  out  at  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  with  the  Grand  Marshal  and 
some  members  of  the  Court  in  coaches,  going 
before  the  coffin.  The  Light  Horse  of  the  Guard 
advanced  at  the  head  of  the  procession,  which 
was  closed  by  the  squadron  of  cavalry  that  had 
accompanied  the  mortal  remains  of  the  Prince 
from  Scania. 

"The  procession  was  received,  almost  before 


COUNT  FEESEN'S  FATE  369 

it  entered  the  capital,  with  insulting  .  shouts 
from  the  populace ;  they  even  spat  upon  Count 
Fersen's  coach.  In  the  Hornsgatan  (Horn  Street) 
copper  coins  were  flung  at  the  coach  ;  the  win- 
dows were  broken  and  Fersen's  face  was  cut. 
At  the  Kornhamn  (Grain-Market)  the  populace 
abused  and  threatened  him,  and  tore  up  stones 
from  the  pavement  to  fling  at  his  carriage. 
The  coachman  was  hit  so  hard  that  he  fell  upon 
his  knees.  In  the  Stora  Nygatan  (New  High 
Street)  the  shouts  and  stone-throwing  were  con- 
tinuous, and  at  last,  at  the  top  of  the  square 
in  which  the  '  House  of  the  Nobles '  stands, 
almost  at  the  end  of  the  Stora  Nygatan,  at 
the  moment  when  the  escort  was  turning  to 
the  right  towards  the  chateau,  an  immense 
crowd  prevented  Count  Fersen's  coach  from 
passing.^  That  moment  was  decisive  ;  if  the 
armed  force  allowed  the  furious  crowd  to  begin 
its  work  of  death,  who  could  stop  it  ?  The 
crowd  encountered  no  obstacle. 

The  people  flung  themselves  on  the  coach, 
unharnessed  the  horses,  and  dragged  out  Count 
Fersen.  The  Grand  Marshal  made  an  efibrt 
to  shake  himself  free,  and  escaped  for  an  instant 
from  the  hands  of  the  rufiians  who  swarmed 
about  him ;  he  darted  into  the  first  door  in 
front  of  him — it  was  that  of  a  cafe — and  ran 
upstairs  to  the  first  floor,  where  he  took 
refuge  in  a  room.  At  that  moment.  General 
Silfversparre,  who  had  been  informed  of  Count 
Fersen's  danger,  came  bravely  to  his  aid;  but 

^  See  the   Introduction  to  Le  Gomte  de  Fersen  et  la  Cour  do 
France,  by  Baron  R.  M.  von  Klinckowstrom. 


370  A  FRIEND  OF  THE  QUEEN 

he  had  only  sixteen  men  and  one  officer  with 
him.  What  could  that  little  troop  do  against 
the  howling  and  threatening  crowd  ? 

The  house  was  invaded ;  the  wretches,  who 
feared  for  a  moment  that  their  prey  had  escaped 
them,  avenged  themselves  by  insulting  the  un- 
fortunate man.  Blows  followed  insults ;  they 
tore  off  his  decorations,  his  cloak,  his  sword,  and 
flung  them  out  of  the  window,  to  prove  to  the 
populace  that  they  still  had  possession  of  their 
victim,  and  induce  them  to  have  patience. 

General  Silfversparre,  being  powerless  to 
repel  the  crowd  by  force,  adopted  a  stratagem 
in  the  face  of  the  growing  danger :  he  oiTered 
to  arrest  Count  Fersen,  and  to  hold  him  prisoner 
until  his  trial  could  take  place.  Much  they 
cared  for  a  trial !  Sentence  had  already  been 
passed  by  popular  fury,  and  was  about  to  be 
executed.  They  struck  the  Grand  Marshal, 
they  tore  his  hair  out,  they  wounded  him  in 
the  head,  they  dragged  him  from  his  pre- 
carious refuge.  He  was  now  in  the  square. 
A  battalion  of  Guards  was  there,  with  Generals 
Adlercreutz,  and  Vegesach.  The  crowd  wavered 
for  a  moment  before  this  armed  force  ;  that 
moment  was  propitious  for  the  rescue  of  the 
prisoner. 

The  Generals  turned  back  and  rode  off"  at 
a  trot,  under  pretext,  as  they  afterwards  pre- 
tended, "  of  facilitating  the  deliverance  of  Count 
Fersen  from  the  hands  of  his  tormentors  ! " 

Then  the  mob  was  at  liberty  to  indulge  its 
cruel  instincts,  and  it  played  with  its  victim. 
The  crowd  passed  before  the  soldiers,  who  looked 


FERSEN'S  LAST  MOMENTS  371 

on  stolidly,  and  drove  the  wretched  Fersen  before 
them  to  the  H6tel-de-Ville. 

*'  There,  although  surrounded  by  the  mass 
of  his  tormentors,  he  had  a  moment's  respite. 
They  seemed  to  grant  him  this  breathing-space 
from  an  impulse  of  pity.  Seating  himself  upon  a 
bench,  he  asked  for  a  mouthful  of  water ;  it  was 
brought  to  him  by  a  soldier  of  the  City  Guard. 
But  the  mob  began  again  to  threaten  him  with 
death,  and  to  reproach  him  with  having  poisoned 
the  Crown  Prince.  They  struck  him  with  their 
fists  and  their  sticks,  they  tore  out  his  hair,  and 
also  his  earrings,  with  pieces  of  the  flesh. 

"  The  people  outside,  closely  packed  in  the 
courtyard  of  the  H6tel-de-Ville,  shouted  to 
them  to  give  up  Count  Fersen.  .  .  ." 

Again  they  dragged  him  out ;  they  flung 
him  down  on  the  staircase,  and  there,  in  the 
courtyard,  the  ruffians  completed  their  crime. 
At  length  the  victim,  trampled  under  the  feet  of 
these  bloodthirsty  brutes,  uttered  his  last  groan. 

Their  fury  was  not  slaked  by  his  death ; 
they  fell  upon  the  corpse,  stripped  it,  mutilated 
it,  and  carried  the  fragments  about  the  town. 

Does  not  this  story  remind  us  of  one  of  those 
sanguinary  scenes  which  made  the  early  record 
of  the  Revolution  so  horrible  ?  And  yet  the 
deed  was  done  between  twelve  and  two  o'clock 
in  broad  day,  in  the  city  of  Stockholm,  under  the 
regular  government  of  a  legitimate  King. 


rV 


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